#so now I’m mad at this guy cos it was creepy and weird and why would u lie like that asshole

[rowanhoney]

Mixed Day hmmm

[ameliagiovanna0]

I have so many thoughts on 9x15.

I’d like to preface this by saying that I love Kim and Burzek.

First off, I blame the writing. I like Kim and Adam as a couple, but my God do they have issues.

When Kim was pregnant, I really did think it was weird that she and Adam were going to move in together. I get what they were trying to do for rice grain baby, but it just didn’t seem realistic. Then, they did the same thing with Makayla. Adam was right, he doesn’t have a formal place in Makayla’s life, just like he doesn’t have a formal or set-in-stone place in Kim’s life. He genuinely loves both of them, so I think it frustrated the hell out of him. He was so relieved and excited when Kim got full custody and when she started referring to Makayla as “theirs.” But it still seemed weird to me that they were raising her together and living together but not as a couple.

Kim and Adam have had so much back and forth, on again, off again over the years that we don’t know where they stand. Like ever. They worked together, then they became friends and started a relationship, they got engaged, they called it off, were best friends, friends with benefits, they were going to co-parent, they went back to being friends, co-parenting again, and now they’re in limbo again. At the end of last episode, I felt like Kim was going to make a move with her and Adam to become a couple again. They seemed pretty stable, but then Makayla got kidnapped.

Kim said some things she probably didn’t mean, and Adam was a bit of a hot head. However, I feel like all Kim has done is crush Adam. He loves her so much, and he always has. She just can’t seem to let him love her. He would literally do anything for her. I do think she loves him, but not as hard(?) as he loves her.  

We’ve seen some real growth with Adam’s character, especially 9x06 with Ortiz. But he’s still hotheaded. That’s why Kim got so furious with him. I get where they were coming from, both of them. I don’t know, I guess I’m just kinda mad at Kim for making Adam feel like shit again. But she was right. He let his emotions get the best of him, and it made things more complicated.

Aside from that, Theo is still kind of a creep in my book. I get that he too probably let his emotions make decisions for him. Maybe that’s why he was waiting outside Makayla’s school. BUT HE WAS WAITING OUTSIDE MAKAYLA’S SCHOOL. That’s ridiculously creepy. Multiple times.  

I know if this had been my mom, there was no way in hell she would make nice with the guy. It seemed like we were supposed to see Theo as some kind of protagonist and that he’s supposed to be a nice guy in the end, but I’m iffy. It’s so freaking unrealistic to me. No way this guy stalks a seven-year-old, tries to take her away from her mother (albeit mostly legally), and then the mom makes nice?? No freaking way.

The end scene. Kim reached he hand out to Adam, probably as some kind of olive branch, but you could see how utterly churched Adam was. He loved them both so much, and then Kim said Makayla was her daughter. I get it heat of the moment, she probably didn’t mean it. But poor Adam. For a while, I feel like he was ok with not knowing exactly where he stood with Kim because it meant he got to be in her life (and then Makayla’s) in some way. He always wanted to give it another shot with Kim, he made that much clear. Then, he made is very clear that he wanted to be in Makayla’s life, and Kim agreed. Then, she just backtracked. I think his insecurities about now knowing where they stand came to a head here, and that’s why he walked out of Makayla’s room.

 Mmk, thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

[not-close-to-straight]

FATWS Episode 4

I’m finally fucking getting time to watch this thing. 

Dramatic reactions, incoherent ramblings and spoilers under the cut. 

Right off the bat I’m feeling like the only thing I really remember about Episode Three is vaguely not trusting Sharon Carter. I’m really supposed to believe Peggy Carters Niecey, defender of Captain America and dismantler of Hydra really is selling stolen art in Madripoor? Seems fake, but okay. 

Let’s get into it. 

Have I mentioned I love Karli’s freckles? Her hair and her freckles kill me, I never understood people who don’t think freckles are cute. They are actual dots of delightfulness

AYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO AYO AYO AYO She is so ridiculously beautiful wtf. I’m shaving my head TOMORROW so I can be half as amazing as her. 

Wait is this a Wakanda flashback? Six years ago... ohhhh look at my goatherder Jesus Bucky, let that baby rest. WHY IS SHE SAYING THE WORDS? LOOK AT HIS EYES PLEASE STOP. This is hurting my soul. Oh god homecoming, and it’s the moment he knew Steve. Oh the tears, I can’t. I CAN’T. “You are free” I’m already crying and it’s been 1.2 minutes. 

Damn right the White Man doesn’t understand anything of their loss and shame. LISTEN TO BUCKY SPEAK WAKANDAN. I LOVE IT. Urgh she’s so beautiful. Her murder strut is impeccable. I’m in love and I’m swoooooooning. 

“It was sweet of you to defend me” Zemo take ten to twenty percent off the top there, This isn’t a date.

Hey, I feel like I don’t love that they refer to Karli as “Karli”. If she was a man, it would be Last Name Basis. “She’s a kid” “she’s a supremacist.” hmmm seeing a parallel between Wanda and Karli and the way they were treated. “She’s a kid?” She’s actually ridiculously powerful but thanks for that. (no Wanda hate here, just pointing it out) 

“My TT” ITS HIS AUNTIE BUCKY YOU’D KNOW THIS IF YOU WERE EVER INVITED TO THE COOKOUT 

Uh Zemo, maybe we don’t be the creepy guy in the coat offering children candy. I mean, the tactic worked but you could literally not be creepier right now.  Honestly I don’t know why I’m so surprised he’s keeping the Donya thing from them, duh he’s a villain, but I’m still surprised?? The sugar daddy role got me FOOLED

Sam being the one that understands what it means to be fighting to be on the other side of the “barbed wire fences” is so sad. 

BUCKY’S MAD. Sam has something against head tilts, that’s so funny to me for some reason. I DON’T TRUST SHARON. 

Why do I smell some foreshadowing with Karli’s talk about destroying the shield and how it’s a relic of a bygone era and a symbol of everyone that was left out

“take it easy before it gets weird” SAM. 

John Walker literally looks more sketchy every time we see him. Also, if you can’t say “son, just don’t” and everyone stops in their tracks, you are NOT Captain America. Its worrying me that Battlestar (battleship? lmaoooo) is starting to side with BuckySam because if there’s one thing literally every movie has taught me, it’s that the person who switches sides ends up dead and if I have to watch a POC first be relegated to sidekick and then killed I might actually riot

It’s so good to see Sam being Counselor!Sam. I think that gets so overlooked with him and I think it’s one of the most defining traits of his character. He’s not just a soldier, he’s not just brave, he’s seen the loss and he knows the struggle and he chose to help others through it while also being equally willing to suit back up and save the world. 

“Don’t patronize me” stop acting like a damn child. Why is John so twitchy, I don’t like it. OH is he really gonna say “this is easy for you, all this serum running through your veins” as if Bucky had a say in anything about in his life beyond Azzano. 

GET HIM BITCH punch his raggedy ass! 

Oh look at Bucky jumping, Winter Soldier, more like Winter Squirrel PARKOUR. Goddamn Zemo with his gun, oh no look at all that super soldier serum! I mean, you have to commend the guy for never wavering from his path. JOHN WALKER AND THE SERUM! It’s supposed to amplify what’s in your heart?? AND HE SUCKS OH NO. 

The power broker texts her “little girl” that’s so gross. 

“Separate them and kill Captain America” three months ago I would have howled at that line, now I’m like...meh. 

Sam wouldn’t have taken the serum-- not surprising. He’s a good man all by himself. No serum needed. Have you seen those arms? Actual Cannons of Freedom and Justice. “What about bucky” I love that he’s thinking about Bucky. Someone please protect these boys. 

Aw Bucky baby you’re not crazy. It’s funny to see him drink cos he definitely can’t get drunk. It’s the equivalent of some diva drinking a white wine spritzer. 

WHY IS JOHN WALKER BACK. 

THERE’S MY WOMEN OH MY GOD I HAVE NEVER BEEN MORE EXCITED IN MY LIFE. Do not shake her hand. John Walker, she will bite your hand off. Pointy Sticks, the Dora Milaje have jurisdiction wherever they want OMG HE TOUCHED HER omg. Look at Zemo sipping his drink LOOKING STRONG JOHN I CANNOT I CANNOT.

“Lets talk about this” Bucky is so calm. Bye bye Zemo. Oh GET it Sam with those fancy moves. 

...what just happened with Bucky’s arm. what just happened. “James” oh man waht does that mean?! Has Wakanda left him? Has he dishonored Them? My brain is moving too fast for this. 

I would like to have a moment of silence for John Walkers ego because he, a White Man (tm) and Solder (tm) and American (tm) just got his shit actually handed to him by a Black woman and he sat there and tried to more her “pointy stick” and couldn’t and then she full on did the shield kick thing while he sat on the ground and looked up at her and you know what? i think that’s very sexy of her, I will be watching this scene on repeat for the next hundred years wtf. 

Also ALSO? This is it. This is the moment where The Man (tm) can’t handle being beat so he goes and does something stupid, this is it, isn’t it? The Man Pain he just can’t tolerate? 

Oh my god Bucky’s face with his arm. I mean, it makes sense his arm would come off but to have himself literally disarmed (get it) in a fight is so... I mean it’s violating in a way, and its almost a betrayal as well but at the same time maaaaaaybe it’s a relief? Maybe its a relief to know he doesn’t always have to be a Soldier, he can take the arm off and just be Bucky?? 

Also I had to pause the show to write about this because my hand cramped up from trying to type too fast ughhh

Back into it 

ARM PORN NOISES I LOVE THEM

Whats an El Chapo? Oh wait, I figured it out. 

I love Lemar’s voice. He’s so confident talking about the serum but lets be perfectly honest, Karli Morgenthau and Steve Rogers are basically the same person a hundred years apart. If you don’t think Steve Rogers would have singlehandedly led a revolt against a world government he thought was wrong, you are 100% incorrect. Not that I think he wouldn’t have resorted to bombings etc, but also... that sort of life does awful things to people. 

WHY IS SHE CALLING SARAH. “My world doesn’t matter to America” oh sweetheart, I feel that in my soul. Sarah knows who Sam is. She knows he’s not working for John Walker. This is the first time I’ve been anti-Karli. I know she’s desperate but you don’t threaten someones babies. 

HEY LOOK THERE’S ME NOT TRUSTING SHARON AGAIN

It actually makes me angry to even see Walker carrying the shield like that. I’m aware it’s an overreaction, but your honor, I hate him. 

...Lemar? 

Don’t make me watch a POC die for some White Man’s story arc, don’t do that. 

Oh. Shit. 

Sam do something. SAM DO SOMETHING. HE’S NOT GOOD SAM! 

My god do I love watching Bucky fight. Those Kicks of Vengeance will never get old. CAW CAW MOTHERFUCKER use them wings Sam. 

Oh Hoskins is okay. Alright. 

Bucky with the good knives, I LOVE HIM. The fight scenes are always so well coordinated in WS. We see you definitely not killing when you absolutely could. 

OH FUCK HOSKINS WHAT THE FUCK I THOUGHT WE WEREN’T GOING TO DO THIS WHAT THE FUCK

...this makes me so mad wtf. We couldn’t have done this journey without pointlessly sacrificing a POC? No? Have to drag that trope out? Gonna make me watch another Black man be killed just so the White Guy can move his story forward. 

oh shit Walker is MAD. 

Fuck he just-- he just murdered someone with Steve’s shield. he just MURDERED SOMEONE WITH THE SHIELD AND EVERYONE WAS WATCHING. 

And look at him, he feels no remorse. He feels perfectly justified. He is DARING them to say something to him. He is America (tm) brutally silencing protests and rebellions and taking his own issues out on people he feels disrespect him and you can’t tell him he’s wrong because he can justify every drop of blood by making it about how he felt “they beat me and they weren’t even super soldiers. they disobeyed me. they should have listened to me. they killed my friend.”

I keep hearing preserum Steve saying “I don’t like bullies” and then imagining him beating the shit out of Walker. 

...That visual of the shield with blood on it... it’s so... shocking isn’t even the right word. Horrifying. Its horrifying.  

I don’t even know what to say. 

This episode was a whiplash. The writers of this series need to be commended. Also the stunt men and the fight choreographers. Fucking kudos, and now I need a stiff drink and a good cry because this episode took it OUT of me. 

[hteragram-x]

Firefighter AU [again]

New story for the AU. This time about Virgil wondering who the hell is Logan. Also, apparently, Virgil’s main personality trait in this universe is thinking that Remus is very pretty and then being like: “hey! who said that?!”.

If it’s the first time you see this AU I think you can still understand what’s going on without reading older posts, but in case you’re interested: [HERE] is the introduction, [HERE] are some general HCs, over [THERE] you can find a story where Remus and Virgil met for the first time, and [HERE] is previous story :>

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Word count: 2240

Relationships: technically Dukexiety, but they’re not there yet; Creativitwins

TW: mentions of fire (what a surprise), small injury, mentions of blood, some animal bones, swearing (because I’m mentally 12 and think that swearwords are fucking hilarious)

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-

Because Logan Said So

             Over the last four months Virgil has learnt a lot about his new co-workers. Not every information he managed to gather was particularly interesting or even worth remembering, but having that knowledge helped with making the new workplace more familiar. And familiarity brought comfort.

           He learnt, for example, that their janitor – Jeremy – was the most grumpy and easily annoyed person in the entire firehouse despite being the youngest janitor Virgil has ever met. It was relatively easy to avoid him most of the time, but if he wanted everyone to know about his problems with something you would be informed that he’s unhappy regardless of your own involvement, or lack thereof, in the situation.

           Virgil also learnt that Anna was pretty helpful when it came to failing equipment and technology. They weren’t employed to do the repairs, but it didn’t stop them from trying to fix everything anyway. The guy with very short hair, whose name Virgil could never remember, was leaving his helmet in unexpected places and had three kids that he talked about all the time. Alex was often late, but always stayed at work longer than anyone. And that one girl everyone called Apple for some unknown reason was currently building a house and you couldn’t escape hearing about it, no matter how much you didn’t want to at the moment.

           Talking to Virgil about issues he wasn’t that interested in seemed to be the common thing among most of his co-workers.

           Pretty standard stuff. Nothing out of the ordinary.

           What was also not out of ordinary was the bird skull lying on his desk this Tuesday.

           “Remus! Is this a gift or are you just leaving your stuff all over the office again!?”, he half-yelled knowing that the younger twin had to be somewhere in the building at this hour. Not that he memorized his schedule or something. He just knew…

           Suddenly a head with a mass of unkempt hair and spider webs on top of it popped from under his desk. It was not the first time Remus was staying there, but Virgil still winced seeing the man crawling from the tiny space. It cannot be comfortable, he though for probably fifteenth time.

           “There’s no way it’s comfortable in there,” he pointed out, also for fifteenth time.

           “It isn’t”, Remus said, like he always did and smiled, stretching his long arms above his head. Even without his shoes – he always walked around the office in just his socks, because of course he did – he was still much taller than Virgil which somehow managed to fluster him more every time he noticed the difference.

           Virgil decided to ignore the futile argument instead pointing at the skull and a couple of sticks he’s just noticed next to his computer.

           “Can you keep your mess out of my desk?”

           “You didn’t even say ‘hi’ to me today”, Remus pouted.

           “I’ll say ‘hi’ when you take your stuff from my space,” he sighed.

           Remus groaned, his arms hanging loosely at his sides in resignation.

           “God… you sound like Logan.”

           A-ha! There he is. This mysterious “Logan”, whoever he was.

           Over the last four months Virgil has learnt a lot about his new co-workers. But no other person was as interesting and worth knowing as Remus himself. The number of weird quirks Virgil has memorized about the guy was unmatched by any other person working at the firehouse which was in no way a surprising score given the circumstances in which they’ve met.

           He was weird in so many ways that it almost seemed normal again. And according to Roman he used to be even more chaotic and unpredictable when the twins were younger. At first Virgil was pretty nervous around the guy – with all of his jokes about violence or with his creepy staring – but now this… interesting behaviour became just a normal and entirely expected part of his days.

           If Remus run into the room and didn’t stop until he hit the wall… fine. Virgil just checked if the guy was okay and went back to work. If he bit the bar of soap… also fine. You just had to make sure he didn’t swallow it all and forget about it for the rest of your day. When he left some of his most disturbing sketches on the fridge, you just commented on his skills as an artist or flipped them, so the picture was facing the door of the fringe, if the drawing was particularly disgusting.

           A standard day with Remus.

           Apparently talking about some “Logan” that no one ever met was also a standard part of his character. And Virgil was very annoyed at himself knowing how jealous he sometimes felt because of this mysterious guy. The jealousy, however, seemed to weaken a bit when he realized that Roman was also bringing the name up almost every day. It started to sound like an inside joke that Virgil was too nervous to ask about.

           “Okay! Your desk’s just as clean as my legs yesterday when I jumped into the river to find a shiny stone, but it was a broken bottle, so I got glass stuck in my hand!” Remus smiled even wider, showing a little too many teeth and lifting his palm with three fingers covered in bandages.

           Virgil pinched the bridge of his nose.

           “Why do you have zero self-control?”, he asked, very much aware that the question was pointless.

           No one knew. And if someone did know, it definitely wasn’t Remus.

           “Sounds like a question Logan would ask”, said Roman who has just appeared out of nowhere behind Virgil. The shorter man shivered a little, not expecting anyone except for Alex who was finishing his shift to be in the room with them.

           “It does!”, Remus agreed poking the bandages with a finger. Knowing him, Virgil assumed he wanted to check if it’ll make the wound open and colour the fabric with blood. “And like I said, I just cleaned up your desk.” The firefighter moved much closer to Virgil towering over him with some different kind of smile. He really was smiling a lot for a person, who wanted to appear at least a little scary most of the time. “Where’s my ‘hi’?”

           The shorter man glanced up at him, suddenly feeling a little overwhelmed with the whole situation and all of his conflicting feelings. It definitely wasn’t the first time he found himself in a position like that. He should have got used to Remus being annoying and invading his personal space long ago. Or maybe he did get used to that and he was just confused by the fact that he really… didn’t mind?

           “Hi,” he said finally, the corners of his lips lifting slightly.

           “Hello,” Remus answered with something twinkling in his green eyes.

           There was a minute of silence. None of them seemed to want to move.

           “You’re both gross,” said Roman decisively and ruined the moment by rolling his eyes and walking right between them to the adjacent kitchen.

           Virgil felt blush creeping up his neck. He completely forgot about the second twin being in the room with them. Wouldn’t be the first time he got distracted like that.

           And he couldn’t even get mad at Roman… that was a little bit gross. …In a good way.

           “You can keep the bird skull if you want to. I planned to paint it and add to my new sculpture, but I have plenty more to use instead.”

           Virgil was more than grateful for the change of the topic.

           “No, thanks. But show me the sculpture once it’s done.”

           That was apparently a right thing to say, because Remus looked very satisfied with himself which was always nice. Virgil really liked to see him so cheerful, even when it meant complimenting some naturalistic painting or listening to his unsettling ideas. He was even more handsome when he seemed genuinely happy… wait, what?

           Virgil coughed nervously and quickly moved to the desk, putting his bag down and turning the computer on. When he was adjusting the headset and checking his microphone he looked back at Remus and gave him a little shy wave.

           “Don’t set yourself on fire today,” he said using their usual equivalent of ‘good bye’.

           “No promises!”, was a standard reply.

 ***

             Roman grabbed a bag of gummy worms from Remus’ hand preventing him from showing them all into his mouth at once.

           “Stop eating so much sweets. You’ll already too energetic today.”

           Remus shrugged and took a long sip of some energy drink he’d been hiding behind his back.

           “Don’t tell me what to do.”

           “It cannot be healthy for you!” Roman tried to grab the can as well, but Remus was sitting on the kitchen counter, so he easily lifted it out of his brother’s reach.

           “Why?!” he asked in a whiny tone.

           “Because Logan said so!”

           “No, he didn’t.”

           “But he would if he was standing here right now.”

           “…fine!”

           Remus jumped off the counter sending his twin annoyed look, but he put the drink away, only now noticing his slightly shaky hands. He hasn’t said anything to not give Roman the satisfaction and moved to the changing room to dress for their upcoming training.

           Virgil followed him with his eyes, not even trying to hide the confusion. Remus almost never did anything, because it was healthy or responsible. What was happening?

           Who the hell is Logan?

---

           “Roman! …Roman! ROMAN!!!”, Remus looked up seeing his brother sitting atop the fire engine with a book. It was his favourite place to escape the noise, people… and work. “Get down here, you lazy motherfucker! We’re moving the old hoses to the new room.”

           “Have fun then!”

           “They’re heavy! Come back here and help me!”

           “I’m busy…” Roman looked at Remus from behind the book, hoping he’d just get bored and walk away. “And you can lift them yourself, come on.”

           “No, I can’t! They’re packed in those bigger boxes. If I do this myself I’ll drop them on my feet or hurt my back and Logan said it’s dangerous!” Remus smirked, already knowing he won the argument. “And do you really want to leave me unsupervised?”

           “Okay, okay. I’ll help… It’s not your fault you’re a weak baby!”

           The rest of the conversation was too quiet for Virgil to hear through the open window from the garages below. The twins probably moved to the other room to finish the task. And Roman, who truly didn’t like this kind of repetitive labour, helped without much complaining… Strange.

           Who the fuck was Logan?

---

           “Roman, you forgot the scarf. It’s freezing. Logan said you’ll catch a cold!”

           “Logan would already give you a lecture for sleeping on a chair like that… At least move to the floor… I’ll bring you some blankets… Yes, I know it’s 4am. You think I’m happy about it?”

           “If Logan saw the mess you’ve made he be so disappointed with you…”

           “Okay, stop staring at cute boys and get back to work! Just imagine if Logan saw you right now. It’s pathetic. Oh… is my little brother blushing?”

           “What do you mean ‘why’? Just stay safe. Because Logan said so!”

           “Because Logan said so!”

 ***

             “Okay… who the hell is Logan?”

           Remus looked at Virgil from the axe he’s been sharpening on the office floor. He was clearly confused, not expecting anyone to talk to him after Roman left the room a few seconds ago.

           “What?”

           Virgil gripped the fabric of his trousers nervously.

           “I’ve asked who’s Logan.” There was a moment of silence. “You… you two keep bringing him up and I… I know that no one with that name works here and no one else is ever talking about this guy. If it’s a guy.” He stopped himself before he started rambling. “So… Who is Logan?”

           Remus was looking at him with a very weird set of emotions in his eyes. It was impossible to decipher what he was thinking or feeling at the moment which was pretty unusual for a person who was normally so open with what he thought or felt.

           Finally he went back to cleaning the axe lying on his knees.

           “Wouldn’t you like to know operator boy…” he said with a smirk.

           Virgil blinked, even more perplexed.

           “Y-yes! That’s why… Of course I want to know! That’s why I asked in the first place!”

           This time Remus openly laughed as if Virgil just told him a joke. It was one of his loudest and wildest laughs that most people learnt to ignore after working with Remus for a while, but it was still pretty creepy for anyone unfamiliar with the firefighter’s personality. Virgil would find it pretty pleasant to listen to if it wasn’t meant to mock him at the moment.

           “I don’t know what’s so funny…” he said defensively. He already regretted ever asking the question. Maybe it was a wrong moment? Maybe he should have asked Roman instead?

           “Of course you don’t! Oh, the irony…”

           He was very close to asking “what’s the irony”, but decided against it. Apparently he wasn’t getting any actual answers right now. Okay. He could wait and be patient when he wanted to. He’s already been waiting for months before the curiosity finally pushed him to say anything. There were other ways to get that information. It might be a difficult task, but he’ll learn the truth… eventually.

-

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General writing taglist: @imma-potatoo

Taglist for this AU: @isabelle-stars @wintersandsunshine

Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist or removed from it :>

[kinetic-elaboration]

September 1: 3x06 Spectre of the Gun

Okay so, it might be a little early to declare myself a S3 apologist, since there are still a lot of eps I’ve never seen, but I feel like I’m pretty close..

This ep was so good!! Honestly I think it’s one of my faves. And perfect to usher in Spooky Season.

Honestly, this show really is my happy place. Just all the characters together on the bridge, on some kinda adventure, looking at weird space buoys and investigating stuff.

Again, this buoy looks like a Windows 98 screensaver.

Kirk keeps referring to Spock as “Science Officer.” Is he mad at him? Full of some particularly intense longing that requires him to put extra distance between them?

Excuse me, you address US as aliens? YOU’RE the aliens.

Hmmm, so it seems they’re not friendly.

It’s addressing them in different languages!!! I love it. Love the reminder that Uhura’s first language is not English,also.

“True telepaths are dangerous.” As opposed to fake telepaths like Vulcans lol?

The Melkotians withdrew immediately. They invented space travel, they saw space, and they said “not for us” and they turned around and left. McCoy would like them; they’d have a lot to gripe about together.

The welcome mat is NOT out.

“Unlike Mr. Scott’s transporter, this unit is not functioning.”

It legit looked like Spock put his hand on Kirk’s back there. Like he clearly raises it, but not far enough to be seen above Kirk, so like.. what was the point? Where did it go?

LEE CRONIN--oh no, flashbacks lol.

“We come in peace”--immediately pulls out gun.

I should have watched this when writing my Western fic.

Just bits and pieces of a Western town... and a completely red sky...

The guns are “crude but dangerous.” If only Sulu were here; he’d love this.

An announcement with a specific time and place on it--that’s a very precise detail to just pull from their minds. Must have come from Kirk’s, that nerd. Maybe Spock. But probably Kirk.

“Because my ancestors pioneered the American frontier.” I mean did they really get to the frontier? Or just... the Midwest?

Maybe it’s actually because he’s a cowboy at heart?

Aliens using his own ancestral sins as the pattern for his own death for breaking their law IS a great (possibly partially unintended) idea. Oh also, if they think that Kirk and co. are here to ‘tame’ or colonize them, then the Western setting makes even more sense--you’re no different from your ancestors, you came somewhere new and brought lawlessness and violence and death, but not this time!

Can you believe Kirk knows all of these details about the OK Corral? NERD.

Spock is so proud of himself for knowing the phrase “had it out.” Look, I used slang correctly!

These are some creative aliens.

“We know death is real here.” Or is it? They’re literally telepaths guys.

Hmmm, this building doesn’t need a roof I think. - The aliens probably

Can’t believe Scotty thinks his usual is his actual usual lol. You’re going to drink bourbon and like it!

Kirk and Spock look so good together.

They’re obviously Chekov’s disapproving parents.

“The day is still young, Ensign.” I don’t remember the exact context of this but Spock is SO judgmental.

What is Kirk doing? This guy is a hallucination; he won’t be convinced by touching some cloth. There’s nothing to convince! He’s only a Concept.

“Have you seen clothes like this?” / “Yes.” / “Where?” / “On the Claytons!” Comedy gold.

Kirk really thinks he can charm his way out of anything. Hmmm, maybe if I just talk nicely to the Earps, they won’t kill us.

“In small amounts, it [bourbon] was considered medicinal.” Lol.

Scotty is becoming a bourbon guy!

“Mr. Chekov is inVOLVed” lol. Is that what the kids are calling it these days?

“A lot of people and things have tried to kill me.” No need to brag.

THAT’S how you make a city limits sign. Put a dead animal skull on top. I live quite close to a city limits sign and I think it could use a cow skull.

Western Cossacks!!

Poisonous snakes and cactus plants. That really distills the Aesthetic down to its core.

This is a good Kirk episode. He’s really being a good Captain: coming up with different ideas, being creative, pushing his crew to brainstorm.

Bones and his tranqs again.

Bones meets his old nemesis: Old Timey Medicine.

Why was Doc Holiday just...chilling in his own dentist chair? (My mom suggested: power nap. Let’s go with that. Power nap + ability for optimally dramatic entrance.)

Also I can’t believe McCoy just goes into this guy’s practice and starts helping himself to all the serious drugs.

Chekov definitely isn’t the marrying kind.

RIP Chekov.

Bones does not sound very sympathetic here. Jim, get over it, he just died, whatever.

And then two seconds later he turns around and tells Spock he’s not sad enough! You can’t win.

“We all knew the risk when we joined the service.”

“My feelings are not a subject for discussion.” !!!!!!! This line!!

“You worked closely with him.” Yes! Chekov is his protege!

“Bones, Scotty, stop bullying Spock.” <-- not an actual quote but it might as well be.

If this were AOS, Spock would already be choking Bones out.

Whoops, no one told Chekov he wasn’t supposed to die!

“Let’s organize! Let’s form an anti-Earp union!”

“I can’t kill them!” he says in a mad rage.

I mean, it is important, though. That’s not what he does.

Kirk is /disgusted/ by lawlessness and frontier justice. What a Rebel TM.

I feel like Bones was waiting for the gotcha moment when Spock compliments him. “Saying nice things about me? That’s not how this relationship works!”

“Nothing can go wrong.” / “Up to now, everything has gone wrong.” He has a point.

That pause before Spock admitted it hasn’t been tested lol--they don’t want to admit it.

“[The bourbon’s] for the pain.” / “But this is painless.” / “You should have told me that before.” The unexpected comedy stylings of Scotty and Spock.

It doesn’t work--guess Spock’s got to take back that compliment now.

“Captain, you don’t understand--they’ve been telepaths the whole time which we already knew!”

“We’re not going to move from the spot.” * is immediately in a different spot * Well I mean at least he’s trying. He’s doing his best!

Love the OK Corral sign also. Weirdly creepy. With its accompanying horse.

Spock doesn’t have any hips for the holster to rest on.

“What did Chekov die of?” / “A piece of lead in his body.” That would do it.

If the tranquilizer should have been effective, does that mean Scotty is actually passed out right now?

Honestly, this is all so spooky. TRUE Western Horror Ghost Vibes.

Also very trippy. If you don’t believe it... it’s not real... some kinda weird chicken and the egg argument regarding our belief in the truth of physical laws idk but it sounds good. Spock brings it home.

Even with the wind whipping around him, Kirk is SO in love. His absolutely adoring expression... So soft...

“Very well, Sir, I’ll meld with you again. Not that I particularly want to. It will be a sacrifice. But I’ll manage. Even though you’re such a dynamic individual haha ha I’m fine I’m cool.”

I feel like Scotty is NOT into the mind meld. He looks terrified. Maybe he should have saved the bourbon for this occasion.

I know the mind meld is supposed to be a replacement for on screen hypnotism...but is this not hypnotism? Like even more than past uses? In this case, Spock is leaving them with suggestions that he wants to continue AFTER the meld, as opposed to, like, efficiently sharing information or giving immediate suggestions. And the scenes themselves are very creepy and...hypnotic.

Kirk’s patented move: WHOLE BODY ATTACK.

Well, we wrapped that up right quick.

Did they... never actually leave the bridge? Or even navigate past the buoy? This actually brings up a lot of questions as to when the aliens started the hallucinations, what their bodies looked like to the rest of the crew, and how they woke up--since there’s obviously been a bit of a time skip, as Bones is already examining Chekov.

Lol at Chekov, saved by horniness. “Nothing but the girl was real to him.”

“A vast alliance of fellow creatures who all believe in the same thing...”

Kirk’s vision of the utopian future is so powerful, he’s effectively gotten the welcome mat put back out.

A personal question? Kirk is intrigued.

Ah, but it’s just another excuse for Spock to be a hypocrite--how did humans survive? How did VULCANS survive? And for the show to remind us of its utopian vision of the future... we will move past violence, we will prove ourselves attractive to and worth of new alien friends.

Then McCoy walks out so Kirk and Spock can have their Moment. He undoubtedly knows what’s up.

So this ep was shown one day before the anniversary of the shootout at the OK Corral AND on Halloween week. It is very much a spooky season episode. So surreal and strange. Ghostly.

I know using sets rather than on location shoots, and not even building whole sets, was a budgetary issue but tbqh I think it worked in the ep’s favor. It added to the alien feeling of it and was an accidentally creative way of showing that these images were pulled from Kirk’s mind.

This felt like a very Classic S1-ish ep to me. I think it’s because Kirk was foregrounded as the Captain/hero and we get to see not just his intelligence and creativity and leadership but also his compassion and his moral core. He IS the values of the series, personified, and that was clear here.

But we also got to see lots of him and Spock, casually working as a pair, and the use of the rest of the landing party crew was very deft also. I loved that there was time to mock Chekov’s horniness, to talk about Spock and Chekov’s professional relationship, to joke around with Scotty, to show more of the Spock and Bones dynamic.

Again, great sci fi concept. I think this would have been another possible inspo for my Pirate AU if I’d seen it in time (although I think I picked a good mission-concept ultimately). I’m fascinated by the Melkotians: who are they? What do they really look like? Do they communicate any other way but telepathically? Are they corporeal? What is their planet like? And most importantly, what experience lead them to be so isolationist? They specifically refer to the aliens as “disease” coming into their home. And it’s when Kirk shows himself to be fundamentally nonviolent even in the face of his own death, they let the Enterprise through.

Basically, I always enjoy hints of alien societies that bring up more questions for me than answers. I love speculating about it.

The next two eps I’ve seen and remember well and I know they’re classics. I’m really looking forward to them!

[springmagpies]

My Uncle Reacts to AoS Season 4

So, instead of getting chores done this morning, my uncle and I finished Season 4 of Agents of Shield. Here are his reactions! Enjoy! Fair warning, it is a long post because Steve had a lot of feelings.

4x01

Before the episode: I’m guessing Coulson was like “I got too close to the situation and could no longer be impartial.” And then he passed over the title of director to May or that general guy. Talbot! That’s his name.

He’s like ghost rider is all. Holy crap he is ghost rider! I didn’t realize he was marvel.

Why’d they have to break up the band?

I am concerned about the robots.

Well, ghost rider is badass.

4x02

“You’re an engineer Mack. And a small tank.” Bwhahahahahaha, that’s so true.

The director is Talbot. Ooooh, not Talbot. Someone new.

Oh, Daisy has a picture of Lincoln. I miss him.

May is not okay. May needs a nap.

I still can’t get over Mack offering that maybe they’re just ghosts. Fitzsimmons faces were amazing.

Mace is such a politician.

4x03

*Lincoln is mentioned* Owwwwwww

I love the Phil, Mack, and Fitz team up.

Wow, Fitz is badass this episode.

Okay, so Elena is amazing. That shot with the light was awesome!

4x04

Fitzsimmons moving in together, count me in.

I see where Daisy is coming from, but not awesome that she’s using her friends and then leaving.

Come on Daisy! Come home.

Heylo? Hahahahaha

Radcliffe, I don’t think telling the android it’s okay to lie sometimes is a good idea.

What’s that face she’s giving? Oh shit, is she feeling things? Is she feeling things for Fitz. That’s not good.

I don’t trust James. *moments later* Called it.

Yes, Mack, two fire dudes just fell into fireworks.

Jemma for sure knows she’s an android.

“I prefer a classical beauty myself.” Awww, Fitz.

4x05

Oh, Fitz, a high five will not fix her being mad at you. Trust me.

“I’m sure they have it under control.” *cuts to chaos* Okay, that’s the best transition of the whole show.

Robbie, please don’t go after that guy. Just keep going please. Dammit. Why can no one just follow instructions in Shield.

Way to go Jemma! But what happened with Mace?? What did he do?

May had a heart to heart with her and she’s still leaving? Is Daisy really going to leave after all of this? She can’t, right?

Robbies uncle is going to get sucked into that book. Yeah, look at his expression. That’s not good at all is it.

Well that senator sucks.

4x06

*Mace mad at Coulson* Daaaang

Fitz is so smart. He would be a millionaire if he was an inventor or something. But he just wants to help people.

Wait, shit, Eli is bad!

*Fitz, Coulson, and Robbie disappear* Oh no!!!! Wait, that’s how the episode ends! Noooo!!

4x07

Shit, where are they.

Oh, so that’s where they are. That’s not good.

“I have to phone Simmons to tell her... I’m in another dimension.” Bwhahahahaha oh no.

That’s not Mack. Holy shit!

“Oh Mack’s the ghost rider no big deal. But you can’t hear us.” Oh my god, these lines are amazing.

The dialogue this episode is fantastic.

No!!!!! Don’t give the darkhold to Radcliffe. He’s already so morally grey!!!

Fitz is going to hit Mace

Aww, Fitzsimmons

There’s some flirtation with Phil and Melinda going on.

Have we seen who’s in that photo Mack is looking at? Hope?

Oh hey Robbie, how was hell.

Ummm, is Aida building a brain? Is she corrupted. Yep. She’s corrupted. We’ve got a corrupted android. Great.

4x08

Coulson’s comedic timing is everything.

Oof, Robbie is not having a good time.

“Oh yeah, Fitz solved that” Of course he did. He’s Fitz.

*Badass Fitzsimmons duo scene* They truly are a dynamic duo aren’t they. That shot was awesome!

*Daisy looking at Robbie’s car* well, you’ve got a sweet car.

*Mackelena finally kiss* gasps. There it is!

*Aida kills Nathanson* Oh dears.

*Reveal that May is an LMD* Wait wait wait. Holy shit. Oh shit. Damn.

4x09

Aida’s so sweet to May. And she sweetly killed Nathanson like it was nothing. Not creepy at all.

Once again Mack’s lines are amazing.

Yeah, don’t attack the android guys. Not a good idea.

“Why would you want to hurt me Leopold.” Aaaah haaaa, umm. No.

“Well, Simmons has only been kidnapped twice on this planet.” Hahahahahahaha that’s hilarious.

Smart people are stupid. That’s amazing.

*Aida freezes may* AAAH, she doesn’t even know she’s a robot!

*Radcliffe reveal* O. M. G. He’s corrupted. He played them. Asshole. Dammit he read it for just a second! No!

This is a good part of the show! I’m really enjoying this.

4x10

What the heck’s in that brief case?

And Radcliffe is now super creepy.

Poor Fitz, he doesn’t know his friend totally betrayed him.

“I did this to protect you.” Awww, Fitz. I mean, let’s not make robots, but that’s still really sweet. He just wanted to protect Simmons and everyone.

*May wakes up* Jesus, god May. She’s a badass. Imagine waking up like that! God! That’s terrifying.

“I can’t help feeling like somethings off.” Yeah, May, you aren’t real.

Mace isn’t an inhuman! Oh damn.

*Fitz analyzing Aida’s head* Uh oh Fitz.

“Is it weird that I found that attractive?” Hahahahahahahaha. Fantastic.

*Coulson back in charge* hell yeah!

*May finds out she’s an LMD* Aaaaaaah! Well, that’s an existential crisis.

4x11  

Does Radcliffe have more of them? Because he just happened to have May.

*May waking up over and over again* Feels like I’m watching The Good Place.  

*Aida breaks a glass* That’s concerning that a robot would make a mistake like that.

*Hope reveal* Oh that’s awful! Poor Mack.

Whose the other LMD?

*Radcliffe LMD reveal* Ohhhh noooo. Poor Fitz.

4x12

Hey! I was wondering where the lanyard guys were!

“You’re going all Gollumy again” bwhahahahaha that’s amazing

“I’ve lost too much already, I’m not losing you.” Awww, Phil.

*Robo Radcliffe talks about Fitz’s past* Oh my gosh, that explains so much. Oh Fitz! Screw Fitz’s dad.

How many Koenigs are there?

Awww, baby Fitz!—Maggie

I bet that’s his real mom too!—Steve

Fitz and Simmons are cute!

*Philinda kiss* Noooo! She’s a robot!

“Sorry, you weren’t meant to last” Radcliffe you ass. You evil ass.

4x13

*Agnes reveal* Eeeek, creepy. That’s who she’s based on!

Wait, is she really Australian? Damn, she does a great American accent.  

Mace really got the short end of the stick in a lot of this didn’t he.

*Shockley gets turned into an inhuman* Oooh shit.

Did they just put Shockley on the plane. The dude that blows up? Well, damn.

*Fitzsimmons realize Shockley is the bomb* Way to go dynamic duo. Now gooooo! Oh, they’re going. Simmons pushing Fitz is amazing.

Aaaaaah! Fitz! Fitz and Mace!

*Fitzsimmons hug* Awww. I know I’ve said it before but they’re cute.

Noooo! Mace! Shit they kidnapped Mace!

*Aida takes put on Agnes’s necklace* Ewwwww, creepy. Creepy creepy creepy! Aaah.

4x14

*The superior walking* He must have this ‘I’m so cool face’ on at all times.

Aww, is Radcliffe in there to be with Agnes. That’s so sad.

*Flashback with Phil and May* Aww, May is all playful. It’s before the sad times.

*Mace chained* that’s not great for your circulation.

They’re going to kill Mace. No, don’t kill Mace.

“Morales, you’re with me.” Uh oh, Morales. More redshirts with names making me nervous.

“You’ve enhanced yourself with alien technology.” Actually Fitz built his hand.

“Cool origin story, bro.” Okay, that’s incredible.

“Concern only slightly lessened.” Davis is just like ‘thanks dude.’ Fantastic.

Mack doesn’t need super powers to be a badass.

*LMD reveal* Holy shit. Holy shiiiit. They switched out all four of them??? All four??? Holy shiiiit. Fitzsimmons are all alone. Aaaahaaa.

“Even filth has a purpose.” Ewwww, and she’s leaning over him like that. So creeeeppyyy. Eewwww.

“He’s a shrink.” Oh awwww. It’s Andrew. She falls in love with him.

Well I guess Phil and Melinda’s robots can be together. Kind of weird but okay.

Oh my god, this is stressing me out!!!

‘Even filth has a purpose.” Gaaah, ewww. I’m still thinking about it.

So is Radcliffe even in control anymore? Or is he too preoccupied with the framework to care. Like, is Aida just doing whatever the heck she wants now because that’s unsettling.

4x15

Where are all of them? Oh they’re in the framework. Uh oh.

Ewwww, Aida is evil! He’s (Ivanov) alive and she’s cutting into him.

Aaah, they’ve got them surrounded. It’s so creepy.

This is some body snatchers shit.

*fitzsimmons LMD scene* *Steve biting his nails with wide eyes* oh my god that was awful.

*Steve rewinds to rewatch the LMD scene* they’re so good. And it hurt so much to see Fitz go so cold. Owwww. Because it was him and how he would act and then it just shuts off. Ugh, they’re so good.

*Jemma stabbing Fitz scene* Oh he’s thought about getting married. Oh my god, that’s so awful. So disturbing. That hurts. They’re so talented.

*Daisy LMDs* Ohhhh that’s so disturbing. This is all so disturbing. Oh my gosh.

*Daisy and Jemma scene* Awwww, they found the only other person to trust. That’s so sweet. Gosh, that was also a brilliantly acted scene.

They’re all such good actors. All of them.

God, this is all so disturbing.

*Aida kills Radcliffe* oh shit. Aaaaah. That’s so creepy.

“Because you and Fitz belong together.” Thats the truth.

“Their poor base” -Maggie

“And they just retiled the bathrooms.” -Steve

Ooh, quake jump, that’s so cool.

*Slow motion quake* That’s sooo badasssss!

*Davis flying the Zephyr* Aah, Davis. Careful. He just started training.

*LMD May blows up the base.* oooh ho.  Damn.

“Lincoln?” Oh noooo. That’s awful.

*Ward reveal* Whaaaaat?

*Coulson reveal* Whaaaaaat?

*Mack reveal* oh nooo, he’s got his daughter.

*Fitz reveal* Whaaaaaat? But, damn.

*Jemma reveal* Whaaaaaaaaat? She’s in a grave? Who’s in the car with Fitz?

*May reveal* is she an avenger? *Hydra logo appears* Waaaaait. Whaaaaaaaaat?

What the hell is going on. What the hell? What is this place. Are they all evil? Some of them evil? Mack isn’t evil right?

*Ivanov’s head* Ewwww creepy.

Whaaaat the helllll. As Fitz would say *does Fitz impression* what the hell?

Dammit why do I have to put the kids to bed!! I want to watch the next episode!! Gosh dang it.

That’s disturbing count: around 15

4x16

“Skye?” Skye??? Skye!!!

*Logo* ooooh, agents of hydra

“You’re on another planet this morning.” Yeah, she is. No shit Ward.

*Daisy looks up Lincoln* Awwww. Owwwww.

*Jemma jumps from the grave.* Lucky she was in a shallow grave.

They’re having a bad week.

Vijay isn’t real. He’s at the bottom of the ocean.

*Ward punches Vijay* wait, did he want him to stop talking? Hmmm.

*Coulson class scene* Aaaahhaa that’s not awful at all.

*May Bahrain reveal* oh shit, it changed that much! Shit.

“We’ve got him doctor” Radcliffe? *Fitz reveal*  Ooooh nooo! Noooo! Shit, noooo! Jemma died and he went all dark. Nooooo.

“It’s a magical place.” Oh damn!

“My father used to say...” Shit, does Fitz have his dad’s influence?????

*Ward double agent reveal* Ooooooh! Shiiit. That’s so interesting!!

“This isn’t the framework this is hell” Jemma’s so pissed.

“Drones, Dwarves. Whatever.” Awww, Jemma’s heart just broke right there.

Are they stuck in the framework! Well shit!

*Fitz and Aida kiss* Ewwww. I mean it makes sense in this world because of course she’s using Fitz but ewww.

She replaced Jemma with herself. That’s not creepy at all.

“Daisy?” Aaaah! He remembers!

This place is messed up! Interesting, but messed up!

4x17

“I make my own soap now.” Bwhahahahahaha. That’s amazing.

Aww, Mack has his daughter. And she’s adorable. Oh no!

Ophelia? Oooh, she’s got her own name.

“I’d cross the universe for you.” Ewwww! Noooo. He literally crossed the universe for Jemma.

*Fitz and Aida make out* *Maggie screams and Steve shivers* But why is Fitz so hot in the framework though—Maggie *Steve nods*

“The soap made me do it.” Bwhahahahaha

*Mace reveal* Aaaaah! Mace! He’s all gruff now and an inhuman! He got everything that he ever wanted.

“And we’ll make our society great again.” Ewwwwwwwhewe!

This is so interesting! I’m really liking it!

*Mack and hope get taken by Hydra* that’s so awful! That is so disturbing!

Coulson is so nerdy, I love it.

“You’re Daisy Johnson. We’re agents of shield.” Mack remembers.

*Revealed that Mack doesn’t remember* No! Shit.

*Fitz kills Agnes* *sharp intake of breath, Steve stays silent for a very long time.*

*Mack joins Shield* Good job Mack.

“How do you feel?”-Maggie.

Steve quietly: “sick.”

4x18

I love how Mace is all scruffy and his suits all scratched.

Aaah, evil Fitz makes me sad.

*Jemma seeing Mack and Hope* Yeah, it’s an oh shit moment.

“Tell your old man all about it.” *Steve gasps* Oh no.

“I don’t know the kind of man I’d be without you father.” “That’s why I’m here.” Yep, to brainwash him.

TRIP!

*Brainwash room* Oh no! It’s the other kid too! No!

MACE! Noooo! Why would Aida do that. She’s so evil.

That’s so messed up.

*May used Terrigen on Daisy* Yes. Good job May. And hopefully it’ll heal her in the process.

4x19

Ha, Bakshi has a tv show.

Aww, mace is dead. He was a good man.

*Daisy quakes Aida out a window* *Steve laughs* That took her by surprise didn’t it.

“It’s like sipping poison...” Mmm, Fox News.

“You’re the new head of hydra” Yikes.

*Ward throws remote* Umm, you guys have limited remotes!

*Steve pauses show* I don’t like any of this. It’s interesting but I hurt inside. It hurts that Fitz is evil. Mace is dead. Agnes is dead. Radcliffe is in prison. May was evil. I’m sad.

Aww, Coulson all of a sudden became that paternal leader.

Wait, so she totally used Fitz in like every way. What a jerk.

Trips the best.

Sorry Ward. She wants to feel bad for you but she can’t.

So much Scottishness this season. I love it.

*Radcliffe yells at Alistar* yep, because you’re a worthless asshole ya jerk. Oof, he just throat punched Radcliffe.

Aww, Coulson is coming into his own.

“When this is over-“ Do I get Skye! “Do I get my Skye back?” Called it!

I liked that scene with Grant. It was the redemption that the other Ward didn’t deserve but this one did. It was nice. Also really well acted.

“Hydra giving alternative facts.” Ooooh, they’re calling them out. They are so not fans of Trump and it’s amazing.

*Coulson on the news* This is Shield’s please vote! Please vote.

That was amazing.

4x20

Yeah, I hate all of this.

This all hurts.

*Fitz talks to Radcliffe* Come on Radcliffe, please don’t betray us. Please.

*Jemma kills Alistair* Well, that’s not going to help us.

“I’m sure everything is fine.” It is not. Simmons killed Fitz’s dad.

I hate this. It’s fascinating and I hate it. She’s just made him mad. God, no.

*Trip saying goodbye* Awww, this hurts. He’s goneeee in our world. Whyyyyy.

Is Aida trying to build her spine *body being built on the other side* Ohhh. Damn.

*Coulson gets shot* SHIT

*Coulson wakes up* You’re going to have to fight a killer robot, Phil.

*May wakes up* Awww she did it! She followed him!!

*Radcliffe redeems himself* Yes! Radcliffe! Yes! Thank you!

*Fitz falls through* Thank God!

Thank you Radcliffe.

*Mack not coming with* Maggie, I really don’t like this.

Oh gosh, Fitz is so freaked out. They’re all so freaked out. Aaah, Aida!

*Aida and Fitz teleport* Well that was unexpected.

I feel really ill. Like, this hurts a lot. I hurt a lot.

It’s like The Red Wedding but drawn out over 4 episodes and I hurt.

4x21

Before the episode: I came into the framework so optimistic and it crushed me. Like I thought May was an avenger and then it was like hahaha pain.

Oh yeah! And then she teleported with Fitz. JERK!

Fitz really got screwed by the framework didn’t he.

*Coulson kills Robo Ivanov with a shield* WOAHHH!!! That was amazing! ...and disturbing.

*Coulson recounts what happened with Robbie Reyes* BWHAHAHAHAHA. It sounds so ridiculous when you recount it but it’s so amazing watching it.

Will she stop teleporting Fitz! He already feels sick!

Yeaaaah, giving Fitz his abuser back and replacing the woman he loves with yourself is not what would make him happy Aida!

“If he wanted to kill us he could just flood the place. Why is he stalling.” TO FLOOD THE PLACE, PHIL!

“I drank the bottle of Haig” “you piece of—“ *Steve can’t stop laughing*

*Mack almost drowning* Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit. OH SHIT.

*Fitz and Aida rescuing mack* THANK GOD.

*Jemma shoots Aida* well, yeah.

*Jemma shoots Fitz* Love ya Fitz, sorry man.

“What do we do with Fitz?” Talk to him!!

“I’m just like Ward.” Oh ho, that hurts.

“There’s only room in my heart for her.” YES! Oh shit, Aida’s not happy.

OH SHIT!

NO DAVIS! DAVIS!

*Toddler starts crying IRL over a toy* Now imagine if we gave her powers.That’s what’s happening with Aida.

*Fitzsimmons pod scene* oww

*Yoyo plugs herself into the framwork* This is a mess.

*Aida throws bottle in anger* His vodka!

*Aida and Ivanov scene* Aaah! Inhuman robot sex. Oh. Nope. Murder.

*Robbie comes back* Welcome back buddy! SHIELD shit has hit the fan.

4x22

“How do we kill Aida?” Hell chains? I’m thinking hell chains.

*Robbie waiting for Shield* Hello, back from another dimension? No way, us too!

Well Radcliffe is screwed if the framework is falling apart.

“I’ll talk to him. He’ll remember me.” No he won’t Elena. Wish he would though.

*Robo!Daisy shoots Talbot* *Steve sits with his mouth open* NO!! I mean, he could be annoying but he was a good man! And he’s been around since season 1!

“There’s a pulse.” How? Yay! But how?

“Once you say you can’t stop me. Well—“ it’s like when you say you feel safe on Survivor and then get voted off the island.

*Daisy & Robbie team up* Boom bitches!! That was super cool!

Mack’s not going to leave until Hope de-materializes. And that sucks ass.

“Robot May was much more supportive.” HA! That’s amazing.

EVERYTHING’S A MESS AND EVERYONE IS HURT AND DIE AND PAIN AND OWW AND THINGS.

Maggie: “What?”

Steve: “You heard me.”

*Aida kills LMD!Jemma* WHAT! What the hell? I feel so sick. Oh thank god she’s an LMD! But I feel ill.

Eeeewwwww the kiss Aida gave Fitz on the cheek is so disturbing.

*Jemma shoots Aida* YES! AWESOME!

*Coulson ghost rider reveal* HOLY SHIT THAT’S AMAZING! I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER!

*Aida dies* Well that was awesome and terrible and poor everyone.

They really do a great job of making you feel sick don’t they.

*Mack and Hope scene*

Maggie: “you okay?”

Steve: *wipes away tear* no.

Wait, is there more to Coulson’s deal with the Ghost Rider?

“Gave me a glimpse of the life I could have here.” Oooh! Mack and Elena! She did almost die for him. They’re in love.

*Robbie having to leave* He and Daisy couldn’t like kiss before he left? No? Fine.

*Daisy speech to Fitz* someone hug him, please!

*Diner scene* Whaaaat?

We’re in space next season!!?? Whooo!!

They’re all so messed up after all of this. I feel messed up after all of this.

[letterstothemidnightsociety]

THAT’S RIGHT BITCH! It’s October and I am still watching and inexplicably blogging about Supernatural - a dinosaur of a television show that’s been on the air longer than most children I know have been alive. 

I know I’m An Old because I don’t think kids these days understand the struggle it was watching television before streaming. We had to wait for episodes. Hell, I don’t think kids these days even really have to wait for seasons. I mean, Voltron premiered on Netflix in 2016, capped off their seasons at 13 episodes a piece and, oh yeah - aired seasons 5 - 8  all in 2018. Was I mad about that? No of course not. Do I also say phrases like “kids these days? Yes, so who even knows if what I think is relevant anymore. 

Alright, so speaking of seasons, last time I looked at pilots and pilot seasons and how the streaming era is changing everything we know about starting a TV show. But once you’ve got your pilot down, now what? 

Not this kind of pilot. Also, based on the prerequisites for demon possession, we’re all agreed this co-pilot’s like, an alcoholic, right?

There’s a rule in TV (sort of) that the first six episodes (some might argue the first season entirely) should be a kind of rehash of the pilot. The pilot sets up your premise and once you’ve got your pilot down, your job as a TV writer is to re-establish that premise over and over again. You’re building your world, you’re writing it’s rules. You’re setting up a template, a formula for how your episodes are gonna play out. This helps your audience get to know the characters, get familiar with your world, get comfortable spending time with them. Essentially, you’re getting your audience to trust the show that they’re going to be tuning in to for at least the next 20-some-odd episodes. 

I’d also argue that this is important so that later, you can break that format later. I’m not saying you should break the trust your audience puts in you, and that’s probably a real fine line of distinction. But if you break your rules right, it can hit the audience with a big emotional sucker punch. Or, it can stand out as a real breakout, tentpole of an episode - I’m thinking specifically about Ghostfacers! In season 3, or Once More, With Feeling, from Buffy. Those episodes work, really work, because they deviate from the formula, but they only work because we know the formula so well.  And these aren’t big changes to the way episodes are done, they’re just shifted ever so slightly that they felt new again.. 

So what is the premise of the first four episodes Supernatural? What’s the formula they set up for the rest of the series? 

Brothers. I said it in my last post, I’ll say it again, Sam and Dean/Jensen Ackles and Jared Jared Padalecki are what makes this show. Full stop. I think we could have gotten 5 seasons out of a show starring two other dudes. I do not think this show could have gotten 15 seasons with two other dudes. So from the pilot through Phantom Traveler, we learn that Sam and Dean have a sh*tty home life - their mother was killed by some mysterious evil thing and their father raised them to be little demon-hunting child soldiers while they look for the killer. Oh yeah, and Sam’s girlfriend died the exact same way which we will never forget because Sam’s gonna have a dream about it almost every episode from here on out. We set up the tension between the brothers - that Sam got to go to college while Dean stayed with their dad like a good boi. We learn that everybody hates each other probably because they are deeply and unhealthily codependent love each other so damn much. 

Next we get the basic rundown of the season arc: 

Dad’s on a hunting trip and he hasn’t been home in a few days. The Winchester brothers are looking for him and by extension, looking for answers as to what killed their mom/Sam’s girlfriend. We also get the basic rundown of every episode: dad is a mysterious and elusive sonuvuabitch, so every episode they go about, say it with me now:

“The family business.” I would also accept “Killing as many evil sons of bitches as I possibly can,” but why can’t I find a gif for it?!? 

Backtracking on this but you know what else gets hecking established with the Winchesters? Sam is the cute one with the people skills and the puppy dog face, so you’d naturally assume that he’s the soft one. No. Not the case. Dean is the Sofffft Boi. The SOFTest boi. Dean wants Sam to talk about his feelings, Dean wants Sam to not keep things bottled up, Dean is the one who desperately wants to keep a hold of his family and also is just deeply broken and traumatized on the inside and oh no, I told myself I wouldn’t do this but I did it anyway. Sorry not sorry. This watch, I’m really picking up on the fact that Dean is, weirdly, the Mom Friend in this first season. Like, he’s basically a Trailer-Trash-Teen-Pregnancy Mom who’ll give you spaghettios five nights a week and a shot of whiskey so you’ll quit yer bitchin’ and go to sleep faster, but he’s the Mom nonetheless. Later in this season and in other seasons, I think you even see him do his dumb-baby-best filling in as the Mom when John went off the deep end. Anyway, I have a lot of feelings and we don’t have time to unpack all of that so I’ll just move on.

RUDE.

Next we set up our Supernatural Bag of Holding - what’s in it? What are the mystical artifacts they use to kill those evil sons of bitches? First up is The Car. Damn, I am not a cars girl, but that 67 Chevy, it does things to me. 

This car has some weird pavlovian trigger for me, it’s not NATURAL. 

The journal. 

John Winchester, you journal the way I imagine a psycho killer journals and I would just really appreciate it if you could be ANY MORE ORGANIZED THAN THIS.

The Trunk Full of Weapons - I love that in these first few episodes (and possibly the rest of the series???) they give this HELLA conspicuous look every time they open the trunk full of weapons. It’s hilarious EVERY TIME.

No, you’re not being obvious at ALL, guys.

The Fake ID’s - from credit cards to impersonating feds, these boys are not afraid to break the law to save some lives and I feel like that’s...that’s the theme of the show maybe? They’re here to save people and they’ll do what they have to to do that? In a world that clearly establishes a dark vs. light/good vs. evil dichotomy, the Winchester make it their job to live in a world of grey? Basically? 

Next on the checklist for this first season of Supernatural - it’s spoopy. *Spoop mileage may vary.* I said it last time, but I’ll say it again: this first season aired at 9:00pm at night. That means it’s primetime stuff for the 18 - 25 year old crowd, but they don’t want to risk some 13 year old watching it and getting too scared before bed. 9:00pm is X Files time slots, Fringe time slots. 9:00pm says you’re gonna get something a little more gruesome and gory and shocking than at 8pm. 8pm is for Friends. Vampire Diaries aired at 8pm its first season. 9pm is for the real adult content (but not too adult because the audience is still mostly children). 

SPOOP!

But yeah, let’s look at the real horror vibe that you get off of these first four episodes. We talked about La Llorona from the first episode - this is a legit ghost that they fight. The kids at the end that literally drag their mom to hell? Pretty spooky stuff. The Wendigo in episode 2 is a literal monster of the week and so for me personally, it’s not that scary, but it is a cannibal monster that eats human flesh. Dead in the Water has vibes from both Jaws and Friday the 13th. Everything from the lighting to the sound design let’s you know this is a horror show, or as horror as you can get on network television. Listen to the scenes just before somebody dies and you get a nice creepy “Come play with me” whisper coming out of the water. I’m a little spooked just thinking about it now. Yes I know I’m a chicken, and I’m OK WITH THAT. And if we go past my season 1 disc 1 into episode 5, Bloody Mary is STILL terrifying and I STILL watched that episode with half my face covered. That’s where I am these days. It’s 2020 and the world is a nightmare but imagining Bloody Mary creepin’ out in my mirror does not need to be a part of it. 

SHE F*CKIN CLIMBS OUT OF THE MIRROR GUYS! I DIDN’T KNOW SHE COULD DO THAT!!!

Then we get Phantom Traveler and our very first case of black-eyed-demonic possession. Watching this episode now, it’s like watching someone’s home movie of their first steps as a baby. They’ve never even done an exorcism before guys! They have to read the exorcism rite out of the journal! It’s so cute!!! Let’s not think too hard about how they got that full sized bottle of holy water past TSA in a post-9/11 world. And try to ignore how poorly these special effects have aged - the smoke from the demon possession?? OMG! THIS EFFECT! I’m pretty sure I could make that effect with my first ever graphic design software on my, like, 2009 mac book pro. So cute and soooo good! I’m gonna leave that CG plane alone, they’re doing their best. 

SO cute and SOOO good!

You want to know what my favorite established staple of Supernatural season 1 is? The extras. LOOKIT these guys - 

Wendigo you have Cory Monteith who later goes on to star in Glee. 

You have Alden Ehrenreich, Debatable Han Solo, doing a lot of face work with very little dialogue. 

You have Gina Holden who is in SO. MANY. Spooky-type things! My personal favs are Blood Ties and Harper’s Island, but she’s in Fringe, she’s in the SAW franchise, she’s in the Final Destination franchise, she was in some deleted scenes on an episode of Teen Wolf! I LOVE seeing Gina Holden, anywhere she pops up. 

And speaking of Harper’s Island, you’ve also got Callum Keith Rennie who played John Wakefield in Harper’s Island, a show that was A+ Great and I highly recommend if you like Agatha Christie and/or murder mysteries. 

Honestly, Rennie looks like he’s about to murder a bitch in this episode of Supernatural, it is not a stretch to believe he’s a psycho killer.

Dead in the Water you’ve got Amy Acker, a regular in Joss Whedon and Whedon-adjacent type shows.

Good LORD, this wardrobe was SO 2000′s WB and it PAINED me.

And finally in Phantom Traveler, you have Jaime Ray Newman who also shows up in a lot of the shows that I like to watch. She was in Eureka, she was in Midnight Texas, both kind of terrible shows that I love because they are terrible, but she was ALSO in Bates Motel and Veronica Mars, which are generally considered to be more quality, so there’s that. 

This still implies that they actually LIT scenes, which is a SURPRISE TO ME. 

Point is, seeing these actors in Supernatural back in the early 2000’s felt like I was seeing the start of their careers. That may or may not have been the case, but as a viewer it was exciting to see them pop up again in other things.

So what about TV now? Do we still use those first 6 (sometimes more) episodes to re-establish the premise? Well, it certainly hasn’t gone away. Look at any network show that still produces 22 - 24 episodes a season and you’ll still see that the pilot season just keeps re-iterating the premise established in the pilot episode, specifically in anything that’s procedural - that’s you’re monster/problem-of-the-week shows. Think sitcoms like Brooklyn 99 or Superstore or dramedies like Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist. The reason being that these shows play in the traditional model of television - on a network, once a week. They are not releasing episodes all at one time or relying on their audiences to stream a whole season in one sitting. These are shows that still assume that someone out there is going to tune in or stumble across their show one night while they’re surfing channels (lol) and need to be told, no matter what episode they’ve just turned on, what the premise of the show is. They need to be formulaic so that people can pick it up anywhere at any time.

But what about shows that don’t follow this traditional model? I mentioned in my last post that seasons are getting shorter and shorter, so when you’re writing a show that only has (8) episodes instead of 22, how much time do you really want to spend establishing the premise? Because of these short seasons, you’re also dealing with shows that are more serialized and less procedural than their predecessors - meaning, you’re dealing with a show that focuses on a season long story (think Game of Thrones or Stranger Things where each episode is an important chapter that you can’t skip) vs. a procedural (think the shows I mentioned above or any cop drama really) where each episode is it’s own contained story, neatly wrapped up at the end. These are shows where you can skip an episode and still know where you are in the show no matter where you start or stop watching. Supernatural is a little bit of both - procedural with their monsters of the week AND serialized with a season long arc. We’ll talk more on that in a later post. 

Not only are we getting shorter seasons, but we’re also dealing with shows that are not released over long periods of time. A few streaming channels, like Disney+ and HBO Max, make a deliberate point to slow-drip their seasons, but most streaming channels will release entire seasons in one shot. You don’t need to worry about your audience missing an episode because they have 24/7 access to all the episodes all at once. And for the most part, they’re designed to be binged. They start at full speed and they don’t slow down to keep driving you to the finale. 

Do I think the procedural is ever going to go away? No. As much talk as there is about dropping the cop drama from TV all together, I think audiences still love a good mystery series. And you can’t just think of procedurals as cop dramas either - a procedural also covers most if not all sitcoms. New Girl, Letterkenny, Parks and Rec, Superstore - these all have a premise that doesn't change from week to week. They may make tiny shifts away from what they set up in the pilot, but by and large, you know what you’re getting into any time you turn on an episode. I think we as an audience still like that kind of familiarity. We may be seeing a bigger swing towards more serialized content, but that doesn't mean that the procedural is dead and gone. 

So that’s what we’ve got for Supernatural - two dudes, driving around in a car full of spears and hand guns, killing bad guys. Some day, they may even find that father that’s missing. What could possibly go wrong? A lot. Stay tuned. 

[starlightandsunshine]

A:tLA First Watch

Ok so I finished Book 2 last night and I have many thoughts

First though, thank you @delicatefury, @princesssarcastia, @thewomaninlilywhite, and @mischiefandspirits for answering my random qs and helping out with the ages and spellings that I was wondering about in the notes of the last post.

Now, thoughts (split up by episode this time rather than all just lumped together) under the readmore because this got loooong:

Appa’s Lost Days

This whole episode was really sad

Super mad at the awful firewhip dude

but that little boy was really nice

I cried when Appa went back to where he lost the others and then managed to follow their trail pretty well but they weren’t there

As a general thing its a really bad idea to get between Appa and Aang since neither of them will hold back if you try

So much bad stuff happened to Appa and I’m really king of mad about it because he Did Not deserve that

Yay for Suki finding him

Unbelieveable that Azula did and ugh

The Kyoshi Warriors fighting Azula & co was cool but I knew the second I saw that happen that something bad was going to happen because of it in the long run

I hope we see them all again - especially Suki

Hate that Long Whatever dude from the Dai Li even more now - I already knew he had Appa but did not like that whole thing

Found the weird Guru guy very strange when watching it but he actually turned out to be pretty important so *shrugs*

Lake Laogai

I love Toph’s blind jokes

Its so great - especially the way Sokka falls for it every time

I love them passively agressively just ignoring the rules

Jet turned back up

And then died wtf?

Everything that we found out about the brainwashing was so ridiculously creepy and if I’d watched this as a teenager or younger I absolutely would have had nightmares about it (how was this allowed on a kids show)

So Zuko found out about the gang being in town

And escalated very quickly

And hey the mask is back

And Uncle Iroh figured it out

Aaaand bye bye mask it was nice knowing you I guess

Ok everything with the Dai Li vs the gang+Jet&co was amazing

Also Toph can detect lies now???

Like yes good very logical I like it

But she couldn’t have mentioned it before??

Can other earthbenders do that?

Is she hiding any other random very useful tricks?

Go Appa biting Long whatshisface! He absolutely deserved that and also its called karma what else do you expect from the intelligent and super badass loyal animal companion to the avatar

And yes the brainwashing stuff is still super creepy

Also the whole Jet dying thing was a) really not sugar coated and b) I did not expect to actually get upset about it

The Earth King

The whole scene with them physically breaking into the palace whilst loudly apologising to everyone in their way is and shall remain one of the most badass yet simultaneously hilarious things I’ve ever watched

“Excuse us, excuse us, sorry for attacking you, no really sorry we’re on your side we just really need to see the earth king, sorry!”

Really guys? Really?

I can’t remember if it was the start of this ep or the end of the last but did Zuko really faint because he did something good?? Like is that a thing that actually happened? I’m not missing some kind of creepy magic/spirit thing?

He really is that dramatic huh?

Poor poor Iroh

The Earth King is really really dumb

OK not dumb just naive and waaaaay to trusting for a guy whos supposed to be king

He let his bear be a judge

I just-

WHAT

Also really guys why did you not predict that the super shady Dai Li guys are going to try to cover up the super dubious evidence of their very suspicious and creepy activities

I was certain that just getting rid of the Long dude (what is his name?? Fei? Fang? Feng?) was not going to work (and I was right~)

Why are there two random dragons in Zuko’s head

Who are somehow both creepy (even if blue-Azuladragon is creepier)

Oh wow the super dubious secret police people were stealing your post why are you surprised at this?

Nononononono why are you splitting up that is a terrible terrible plan

Oh look Azula just turned up are you really just going to let them in without meeting them first I thought you liked those girls and your not going to say hi?

Ugh I knew Azula was going to win somehow! (I know technically she isn’t going to win for another couple of episodes but lbr this was the point where they basically handed her the keys to the earth kingdom UGH)

The Guru

Ty Lee has a crush on Sokka, of course Ty Lee has a crush on Sokka

Why did I not see that coming

Zuko is a pod person now

That was super creepy

Seriously wtf?? Iroh there is something wrong with your nephew!!! Deal with it! Do NOT just accept it

Seriously watching him all happy felt so wrong!

Wow, that’s actually kind of depressing

He deserves to be able to be happy

Just not in a pod persony way!

So the Guru is kind of weird

But ok fine

I like Sokka and Katara’s dad

And I’m so ridiculously glad that at least one person actually has a good, living parent

I was ridiculously on edge the whole time waiting for him to screw up

But nope, he really is a great parent

I guess that makes 2 parent/guardian people who are both living AND supportive AND actual caring good people

Out of waaaay too many

Toph got kidnapped by those creepy guys - I’d almost forgotten about them

Why is the one guy so bloody stupid

How is he that stupid

AHA metalbending! Vindication!

Why is this a new thing??

Also yay for Toph apparently just spontaneously inventing a new kind of bending

You go Toph!

This is why she’s my favourite

Seriously though those two guys were idiots I’m so glad they got their butts kicked

I predicted something going wrong with the chakra thing - and I sadly wasn’t wrong

(Bad Aang, that’s not what he means!)

(Was I the only one who got Star Wars Jedi vibes from the last let go chakra thing?)

Also Katara no do not just assume bad things because you see fire nation people (who have been hunting you and who sort of hate you and ok yeah its completely understandable but still)

Bad idea going back before you’re ready Aang

Worse idea to not tell Sokka everything Aang

Ugh I get it and where everyone was coming from but UGH

The Crossroads of Destiny

That title isn’t at all ominous sounding

Waaay to be specific Aang

Your crush is showing

Toph’s moving earth mound thing is very cool

The boys really should remember that she’s blind by now

Although that was hysterical

Iroh and Zuko invited to the palace: obvious trap is obvious

Also the whole happy thing is still freaky

Is Azula getting better at the evil speeches/monologue thing? Is that even possible

Iroh breathing fire is amazing

Also that smirk on Zuko’s face right before he did it!

No one was expecting that

Zuko do not be stupid

I’m not sure what surprised me more - him actually being dumb enough to challenge her or her saying no

Aaaaand now he’s stuck with Katara

The bear’s animal instincts? The bear’s

Ugh how was this king not already overthrown years ago

Although puppet king tbf

I really love Iroh just casually turning up at the house the gang is staying in

Also A* reactions from Aang and Sokka

Iroh’s faith in Zuko is heartwarming

And I am so mad that it was betrayed! Ugh! Zuko!

I loved the way the guard person just immediately started blurting out whatever they wanted to know

I wonder what Iroh did that freaked him out that much

Especially after Azula’s speech

Come to think of it the whole royal family of the Fire Nation are all just scarily good at what they do and also just plain scary when they want to be

Except maybe Zuko because he’s kind of a softy

But still terrifying to most people

Ok everything about Zuko and Katara’s cave conversation

Also go Katara for finally having that rant considering that she sounds like she’s been wanting to say all of that for a while

And um ouch! “We have something in common” seriously? OW

Splitting up?? Again? Because that plan worked out so well for you last time

So Aang and Iroh’s conversation was something

I’m not sure what it was or how I feel about it yet but it was something

Aaaand the Dai Li totally just assassinated everyone in charge

Of course

Did Sokka really just not recognise that they weren’t actual Kyoshi Warriors until the “Who’s Suki?” thing?

Ty Lee flirting and fighting

And Sokka managing to avoid her longer than actual benders

Both amazing

Cannot believe Azula just reference the Divine Right of Kings

Of course she did

ugh

Total power move just sitting on the throne like that

Awwww Zuko and Katara are bonding

That’s so sweet

And I just knew something was going to go wrong right after seeing them bond

still was not prepared though

Aang’s glare at Zuko when Katara’s hugging him

Somebody~ is jealous

Aaaand angry Zuko is back

I missed him

He made way more sense than pod person Zuko

Pushing him was not going to go well and I cannot believe that Iroh didn’t see that

why

Ok Azula is hideously manipulative

like wow very good at it

But low blow

Of course that was going to work

I wonder how long it will be before Zuko regrets it

And makes another impulsive choice

So the whole Azula vs Aang and Katara fight was amazing

And ngl when I first saw that Zuko came I did think he was helping them but no, it was Azula

Which makes sense but

Disappointed but not surprised

Love Toph immediately using metal bending to her advantage

Like she can Do That now and she’s not going to waste any time using it

Ok can we give credit to Katara for not just lasting so long against Azula (who is pretty much established as terrifyingly competent) and actually starting to win  before Zuko intervened

Also to Zuko for putting Aang on the retreat (he’s literally the avatar and can bend multiple elements - Zuko may not be a prodigy like his sister but he’s no slacker)

Oh and Zuko “has changed”

Has he though? Has he really?

I mean yes pretty much but he’s still going straight back to the sister that has tried to kill him and the Worst Dad Ever

Seriously I dare you to find a worse dad than Fire Lord the Terrible Father

I’ll wait

Also can we talk about how Aang is more beat up than Katara despite objectively having the less scary/prodigy opponent?

Love Toph just casually encasing Ty Lee’s limbs in stone

And Mai just lets them go

For some reason

Ok then

Still don’t understand that

But sure

And now Aang chooses to go into the Avatar State

Because when outnumbered by earthbenders and the two heirs of the fire nation turning your back while encased in stone is a good idea

And it works and its terrifying

and then Azula downs him the lightning to the back

Is he ok? Bc he looks dead

And I know he’s the title character of the show and all but it really does not look good for him

Wow do not piss off the master waterbender like that

And I know its the wrong thing to notice but Katara looks really pretty with her hair down like that

Oh no Iroh! He’s a prisoner and he totally just comitted treason

Damn I hope he ends up ok

But Azula’s involved so probably not

Are you regretting your decision yet Zuko?

And damn Iroh won’t even look at Zuko

OUCH

Hey the spirit water actually came up and was useful! Kudos to the writers for foreshadowing that 20 episodes ago

And of course the only thing Zuko can focus on is Uncle Iroh

Is it just me or does Azula actually care about him in a really weird and non-emotional way

Bc that comforting at the end - that didn’t sound fake/manipulative like she normally does - it sounded genuine

Does she actually have positive emotions about someone

And wow “The earth kingdom has fallen” that’s such a downer ending

How was that only five episodes??? So much happened! And wow such a downer ending. Things really just went from bad to worse and each episode managed to top the “oh you thought this was as bad as it could get” quota from the previous!

I know that Zuko is eventually a good guy but wow that last episode really just hurt wrt him because he has no idea what he wants? Except for his father to be proud of him and his family to love him - in that order

I want to scream ‘priorities’ but also he got a really bad hand to start with and undergoing whatever that fever dream was (still don’t understand anything about it hope that eventually gets cleared up) and then a personality transplant and then his Uncle basically telling him to commit treason before his sister offers him everything he wants on a silver platter makes that actually a pretty understandable decision. Even if its not one I like.

Also random question here but it occurred to me that Appa can kind of airbend and that those badgermole thingies can sort of earthbend and Avatar Roku had a dragon that I’m assuming can firebend (are there other dragons? are we going to see dragons?! Please say yes!) so does that mean there’s some kind of giant rideable creature that can waterbend?

And wow now I want to watch Book 3 and find out what happens because there is a lot of stuff I need answers to and I need to be resolved.

[migleefulmoments]

"Because accusing a gay man of hitting on all the straight men is homophobic. Because Abby insinuated that the video is problematic" Did the anons say Ryan has hit on all the straight men? This is getting weird. I am sorry to see you keep misrepresenting what the original anon said - who mentioned only a "crush". I don't remember anyone here accusing Ryan of hitting on Darren. The anons weren't talking about Abby either, you brought her up regardless. But she uses everything to tinhat.

I’m done talking about this- if you want to say more then come off anon and have a conversation.  But they DID imply that Ryan was being predatory and inappropriate- I don’t remember what the first anon said but I have been responding to the tinhatters comments. 

Abby: Yes Anon, That was my take as well.

This got long so it’s under a cut

 followed immediately by:

justcantgetenoughcc

I have seen the recording of Ry/M touching Da/rren’s cheek before, and still find it creepy. It looks as if D turns his head to kiss R’s hand. What do you think?

Abby: I noticed that too. That Darren turned his head and blew him a kiss / or kissed his hand… to appease him, as he was interrupting the conversation with their guest of honor - Mayor Bloomberg. Possessive much? I found Harry Shum’s expression even more interesting as he notices what RM is doing.

There’s another picture that goes with this set… Where Heather is unceremoniously yanked out of the way, so that RM could stand next to Darren.

Look at Jane’s reaction to HOW RM is describing Chris here…

Chrisdare actually comes in with a reality check and pushes back against their nonsense.  Notice that she points out that they need to watch the entire video to see the truth.  

chrisdarebashfulsmiles No it’s not the right take and it’s easy too see if you see the entire clip: tightening the lips is not the same as kissing hands.

Now, i know i’m gonna sound rude but i’m mad and pissed off AF in D’s behalf (and as a person who try always to check before speaking) and it’s not something that happens a lot. I usually stay silent too but today this is too much for me. I don’t understand this need of spreading “lies” about him of on this kind of things. To prove that is ok to be mad at him for the bearding and thinking he’s always been disrespectful to C?? That maybe he did casting couch?

We have enough haters… he has more haters than we have… why there’s the need to invent stuff about him it’s beyond me. And now you all block me or whatever, i don’t care. I swear after 6 years here and all that this means… I DON’T CARE.

But for the love of God he has enough on his plate without this kind of stuff. Said that, i agree on RM being the creepiest and i hate him for how he treated C.

Abby comes back with a toned attitude and agrees with Chrisdare. She wasn’t reflagging this earlier in the week? No idea what that means but she can’t help but stir the shit. 

ajw720

I was actively not reblogging this gifs earlier in the week because it’s a reminder I don’t think d needs.

But he’s literally pushing his hand away with his face. As @chrisdarebashfulsmiles said, d as enough on his plate. Can we not add to it with falsehoods?

No one is arguing about RM. but for some reason d has decided to dance with the devil he knows. It must be his best option. And c is still there and supporting him so he’s clearly ok with the choice. Let’s not add to the substantial weight on their shoulders.

Rouged has the most outrageous comments-as usual- and Abby reblogged them without pushing back and in fact said “some good points”. Since she didn’t call out those she felt were untrue-I must assume she was fully supportive of the suggestions of impropriety on behalf of Ryan. This isn’t the only time Abby has sullied Ryan’s name. Rouged is only upset that Darren’s name is dragged through the mud.  

rougedraconteur

This has been around forever, and will never go away, will it?  I had asked that this not be reposted, for what I thought were obvious reasons, but people just can’t help dragging him through the mud.  So, let’s talk about this little piece of hell.  This was when they were filming the competition in New York.  D’s bit was supposed to be over, and he was only in that episode at the very end, which could have been filmed anywhere.  BUT, he had broken so big that he, and the Warblers, were given an album release and were also in NYC and on Today show premiering it. D was privately discussing with the producers where his character Blaine would go next.  Would he have his own show with the Warblers, a spinoff, or would he stay with Glee?  It was a huge decision, and very high-pressure.  C had already returned to Glee and New Directions, this was the big show.  But, starring in his own show, and giving all the other Warblers a bigger career, that was also tempting. I am sure he felt the pressure of that decision, and how his choice impacted others, he had formed a bond with the Warbler actors.  But being on the big show, a sure thing, and with C as his co-star, seeing him and working with him every day, well…

This was a “Welcome to NYC” photo op and news article by Mayor Bloomberg with some of the cast, and this was the moment D was shaking hands with Mayor Bloomberg, and speaking to him.  I happen to think D has some political aspirations as well, so he may have mentioned something when he met Bloomberg.  RM was probably high, he acts so erratically here, but he reaches out, with a camera and tons of photographers there, and pats him on the cheek, cups his cheek, actually, and pats it way too fondly, extremely inappropriate but what RM does a lot, and not just with D. (more about that later.). I don’t know why Br/ad Fal/chuk does not control him better, but they are both horrible people, as is Dan/te Di/Lor/eto, standing right behind RM, who no longer works with RM, Br/ad, and I/an. (Thank all the gods.  That’s one creep out of the way, two to go.)  D, in mid-speech with the mayor, and still shaking his hand, is shocked, and reaches up to angrily swat RM’s hand away.  Remember that D did not know all the other guys that much, he had mostly hung out with C and the Warblers, who would probably have been more protective of him, (I am sure C would have tried), and more interactive, but this is the rest of the world, including Bloomberg, the NYC press, AND New Directions seeing this predatory behavior roll out up close and personal, for the first time, out in the open, and blatant.  I mean, he just did not care what people thought at that point, he thought he was king of the world.

I don’t know why C and the rest of the girls besides Hea/ther were not here, but I know L and C had that big filming singing on the Wicked stage, and the scenes at Tiffany’s.  D supposedly was present in the audience at that filming.  Since he is not dressed in Warbler costume, for Today show, this may have been that day, I assume C and L filming in those outfits took most of one day.  The entire Glee production team, including Warblers and THEIR album rollout, were all there for a week of filming, and, at the height of their fame, had all practically shut NYC down with their various filming locations.  Fans were everywhere, and the city made a big deal of it.

Heather tries to stand in front of D, in the group photo, and is roughly jerked out of the way, (also caught on film, the guy must have been unable to stop rolling, it was just too bizarre), so that RM can cosy in to that tight space next to D and hold on.  In virtually every photo made with the two of them in a group, D ALWAYS is made to be very near RM, UNLESS RM is sober, has just been called out for being a creep, or is otherwise trying to behave and scrub his image, in which case D is not attached to him at the hip, but these are rare indeed.  Again, this was NYC, the height of Glee’s popularity, RM was drunk with power and fame, and probably also literally drunk, thinking he ruled the world and everyone in his domain, and D was making the second-most important decision of his life, behind the scenes. I don’t think many people ever consider the extreme pressure he was under, this was a career making moment, and RM and the other producers were all giving him the hard press.  At 23 years old.

The first important decision, knowing how RM was, was going all in to be on Glee.  And don’t tell me he didn’t know.  Every person in Hollywood knows the predators, and the pluses and perils of working with them.  If they are mature adults, and are not trapped or coerced or blackmailed or assaulted, (and they usually are, the power exchange is very imbalanced), what they do is their business, and I don’t judge.  If they gain something, that is an exchange, that is their power, their erotic capital, and they are allowed to own that and exchange it as a strength, if they choose.  The actors have assets, that propel their careers, and they are allowed to use them, as they see fit, if they give that consent in that moment, and get something they value in return.  That is an exchange of power, and happens so frequently in Hollywood (and Washington, and corporate America, and The entertainment and fashion industries as a whole), that most in those industries don’t think twice about it.  

So, Hollywood is one of those towns where lots of sex happens, because there are lots of beautiful people interacting with very rich and powerful people, and they all interact with each other.  Get real, and get over that part. D is not a saint, nor does he have to be for me to be his fan, I am not blind or stupid or naive, I get it. They are not like us, okay?  This is not our day to day lives.

 The bad part is when people are faced with almost constant sexual and physical and emotional harassment because of it.  And D is.  From many power sources. The same as many beautiful women  are, with all the talk about fleshlights and being rapey, which is the latest.  It is all lewd and suggestive, we have all sexualized D and C, and need to accept that complicated history we all have with them.  But especially it is true for D with RM, and Br/ad Fal/chuk, (and Da/nte Di/loreto, but I hope that one is over.) Theirs is oppressive, and manipulative, and controlling and threatening. And that is abuse.  

And if anyone has the film from C’s first Single Ladies dance rehearsal, in costume, for the Glee tour, you would see more blatant RM abuse.

 In fact,I would venture to say almost every member of that key cast was abused beyond their consent by the showrunner, other producers, writers, and directors. (Not all of them, but some of them, for sure.) It was only because that show made billions, with a B,  for F/ox, and even War/ren Buf/fet visited that set (weird, he sat by Ch/ord), that Fox execs looked the other way.  The fact that Da/na Wal/den, RM’s main enabler, is now at The Mouse House, just tells you how pervasive this culture truly is.  It’s hard to fight everyone, when all your heroes have feet of clay.  RM IS the devil he knows.  And he has a contract.  And he DID negotiate Executive Producer status.  But I think it is ironic, and more than a little sad and sick, that RM also gave it to the two new prettyboys on set, who have earned NOTHING like the shit D went through, after we all mentioned that it gave D power and control  that he had more than earned.  Can’t let D get too big for his britches, and think he is getting somewhere without us now, can we, RM and BF?  He OWES you.  Apparently, forever.

And can we stop reblogging that series of images now?  I think RM gets a sick satisfaction out of them even now, as all the shot starts yet again, tangling them together in intimate ways RM does not deserve, and I despise giving him anything.  What was done, is done.  What happened, happened.  What is happening, has its reasons.  It does not change that D is a huge talent, and deserving of his fans, nor that RM and BF are likely to bring him success.  They are still creeps, and horribly so, ones that deserve to be brought down, in my opinion.  i  And apparently would rather deal with, at this point, since everyone is watching, due to all the issues in the past, than ones he doesn’t, which no one expects.  The current movie is a perfect example.  This career is exactly like walking through a field of land mines for a living.  You never know when you are going to step on the next one.

ajw720. Will no reblog again, but some really good points.  

[rickiewrites]

Creepie Love: Chapter 2

[ain-t-bovvered]

14x04 Commentary

Zeta and Giuls scream together, and then die.

Me & Zeta will watch together season 14′s episodes as they come out and we’ll do our commentary while watching.

1  2  3

14x04 Mint condition

[intro talking about ghosts]

oh it will be a ghost ep then.

TIME FOR A FILLING EPISODE THEN

zeta: I guess

SO THE BROS CAN BOND

[episode starting]

....lol the beating sound of the television ad.....suspiciously similar to the title into

-really.....? a trenchcoat...? 

-So handsome

zeta: so angry

-lol that’s us with Micheal. 

MOTHERF- THAT SCARED ME DAMN CELLPHONE

- “Hey Sam”. ....

zeta: built by Tony Stark’s second cousin. Damn cool down bitch.

-this is like the LARP episode . Talk shit, get quartered by horses.

zeta: I think he’s already dead. THUNDERCATS.

-uh uh.

zeta: Don’t dude

- why does it feels like the film “Small Soldiers?”

-AAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHH ARE THOSE NOODLE SOCKS WITH “SEND NOODS” ON THEM?!? 

[opening amazon] I need that shit

zeta: Hello

-My slob *sobs* that is too cute 

zeta: 80′s are calling.

-OH look it’s your decade.

zeta: Shut up bitch

lol

- OH LOOK IT’S YOU

zeta: SHUT UP

US:

-Naaaaaaaah WhERe iS thE BEaRd. Whyyyyy.  so smooth.

zeta: Dolphin belly

-WHYYYYYYYYYY

- The socks bitch

zeta: cute motherfucker

-Slobby Dean is canon and I’m living

-Cass and Jack are on a Father and Son trip *sobs*

-”Our life is ...a scary movie”.....true dat.

zeta: Panthro kicked my ass. I grew up with the thundercats.

-THUNDERCATS SERIOUSLY LOL. 

-That Panthro is mine”  ....love me some nerdy Dean.

-And Sam’s little pleased smile??...I hate them ...so cute-

zeta:short sleeves.

-Captain Khaki

- The fake laugh of Sam AHAHAHAHAHAHAAHH MY GOD

D” ahahahah so lame”

zeta: the lollipop

-[vietnam flashback to my first fic]

-D”she’s like your twin- Soft delicate features ...”

zeta: Luxurious hair. Look at that happy face!

-My skin is clearing

zeta: my allergies are cured

-"Vintage hotwheels”

-THOSE ARE NOT THE INSURANCE’S GUYS I GET THO. HOW UNFAIR IS THAT?.

zeta: true dat. Oh Chuck , his face is killing me

-Of course he is.    zeta: of course he is

-W  T  F . I HAVE A KINK . THOSE GLASSES IN PARTICULAR ARE MY KINK NOW.

zeta: yep, Can’t word.

-THAT’S MY FIC REQUEST FOR YOU BITCH. GIMMIE THAT .

-ALSO...that switch of mug . DEAN MAH BOY U CUTE.

- Apple ciders !  D” sHE OfFeRed”

-CAMBLES AND SONS’ INSURANCE

zeta: I’m Zelda

- Why do you know what that means?  zeta: Why do you know what that means?

- Sam quickly looked the other way

-DAMN THAT JACKET

zeta: yeah

-He looks like he just came out from Mad Men, and  I’M SO HERE FOR THAT.

zeta: GIF, bitch . also....we don’t eat that much candy.

- [the mom in 50s gears] lol but ....ME

zeta: you

AHAHAHAHAHAAHAH 

zeta: shut up.

-U SHUT UP

HUNTER EXPERTS

zeta: oh crap. the gun porn.  

zeta: LOOK AT

-DAMN he looks good.

zeta: -THAT

me:

zeta: Hello

-wow.   zeta: holy fuck

-What’s up with the mom tho? why she dressed like that?...creepy . Favourite pillow.....ok.

zeta: everything is not fine

-Everything is not fine, I said that in my mind when he said the positive one first.

zeta: I need the Sam beard back.

YES...LASTED A BIT LONGER THAN MICHEAL THO.

zeta: that dude is HUGE

me:  ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

- “nice Sam ...smooth”

zeta: smooth

- Sam envying the dude’s beard

zeta: Head tilt. 

zeta: Bow legs bitch

-Super awesome. lol the dude’s jacket tho

zeta: oooooh damn

- I. SMELL .PARALLELS.

- OH HI  ζ

zeta: Shut the fuck up.....I did have the same earrings.

-DEAN IS A NEEEEEERD

zeta: Completely. Look how happy he is.

- I’M DYING STAPH. MY HEART.

- And again there is that focusing on the keychain . hmmmmmmmm my hunter’s senses are tingling

zeta: creepy dude.

-She’s too little to be Sam’s parallel tho.

zeta: everyone is too little, he’s humongous.

-THE KEYRING BITCH I KNEW IT. 

-CO detector. nice save Sam. That fake scream tho.

zeta: 80′s bitch. 80′s.

-S” are you okay?”

Fem!Sam: 

- Fem!Sam “ I was pretty busy screaming” 

-ahahahahahahha lame

-Sam is so offended that the glass didn’t break. “But I used my moose force”

zeta: fuck me sideways

-GOD I LOVE HIM. OMFG . GIF

zeta: he’s excited

-He should not be that excited.

-SEE I TOLD YOU THE FUCKING KEYCHAIN

zeta: Capish   capish

- D : IMMA SMASH- oh no wait *opens cabinet*

-How to make a bomb casually . Sammy 101.

zeta: I think he’s not gonna stay inside the circle.     

if an incredibly hot guy who shouldn’t be that hot in that outfit tells you to stay in the damn salt circle you STAY IN THE DAMN CIRCLE.

zeta: Nope

- OH COME ON....awww please don’t die I like you.

zeta: fine go through him. And those earrings.

-Lol you had leg warmes too right?

zeta: Yep

-Knew it...and those gloves.

zeta: and the fucking top. JFC IT IS ME

-YEP.

zeta: hell.

-I had a messed up childhood     zeta: messed up childhood.

-THat iS noT HoW thAT wOrks

zeta: nerds

-don’t call me that.

zeta: oh fucking hell

-” I TOLD YOU TO STAY PUT”  bitch how many time did I write Dean saying that? I’m having a stroke.

zeta: Casper?! -bitch you bet your ass that lil’ bean Dean stayed in motel rooms and started his scary movies thing with Casper.

- D: “ ...I send you there ..”  hot

-Lol why is that so funny

zeta: don’t know but it is- That side smile.

-GuRL I’M LIVING THAT JACKET

zeta: the pants could be a tad tighter tho.  BABY!

-bitch they are not jeans, they’d explode on Jensen’s ass equation curve.

zeta: true....a tad.

-AWESOME    zeta: that was awesome.

zeta: don’t ruin this for me

-Feelings talk. I’m never getting over it.

-CHIEF   zeta: CHIEF

-whyyyyy

zeta: his watch beeped?

-OMFG I LOVE THAT. GIF...GIIIIIF *whispering* adorable.

zeta: adorable.   Continue.

- what

zeta: spin the bottle. Disappointed. Hurled. looool I’m wheezing.

-I thought Sam didn’t like halloween becasue..you know....DEAD GIRLFRIEND ON THE CEILING ?!?

-Shaggy and scooby       zeta: Thelma and Louise    

-Bert and Ernie .....that’s weird 

-Loving the crazy look on Dean 

and the scared af of Sam.

zeta: oh hell.  ugly.

-dude....you fugly.

-wut....wha....that, that’s the end?  what .....a waste of footage ok

zeta: that was fun.

.

.

.

send an ask HERE or to @waywardbaby if you want or a smoke signal, idk whatever I’m tired af.

TAGS: @supernatural-teamfreewillpage @destiel-honeypie @mariekoukie6661 @dragontamerm  @closetspngirl

[jjkfire]

man yall i had the most creepiest encounter last night and i just really want to rant so here it is.

so yesterday I had to go meet my friend at a bar but before that I went to get some pizza on my own bc I was hungry af. on the way there I was heckled by some weird men shouting random korean greetings at me when I'm not even korean zzz and they kept pestering me but I just ignored them even if it took everything in me to not turn around and fckin cuss the life outta them in korean like bitch I didn't answer to your stupid ass annyeong and araso for a reason. anyway what is the point of saying random words in a language you barely understand to a stranger on the street like what does that do for you???? 

okay whatever so after that, I'm waiting at the traffic light and this other random guy stands next to me and asks me where I'm goin and fck I really didn't want to answer but I learnt the hard way that guys get even creepier when you don't so, I said I'm meeting some friends and he asked where and I lied and said my friend's place cos I just wanted him to leave me aloneeeee. then thankfully the light turned green to cross so I basically jog away and I get to the pizza place. okay so I get there but the queue is out the fuckin door and it's 1.30 am so I'm like damn no pizza for me I guess. so I head towards the bar im supposed to meet my friend at but then I see the SAME GUY across the street like he followed me and he's already staring at me and smirking and I'm scared outta my mind. so, I turn and cross onto a diff road at the junction and I look across to see him walk the opposite way but when i get to the end of the crossing, the guy jogs across to me and starts talking like ajjxhdhdhdhd I was screaming internally bc wth why are some guys so creepy. he walks next to me and goes, so your friend's place huh and starts talking and asking me questions and shit and I'm freaking out okay like literally scared af cos I'm alone. I chose to just mumble and shit and I finally get to the bar!!! but when I get there the bouncer tells me nah man we not letting anyone else in no more and dude the guy's still there man still fckin being creepy and asking me where my friend at like Jesus dude just leave me alone god. SO I was like well fuck how do I leave now without this creepy asshole following me home and thankfully this huge ass group shows up and I blend in and use them to escape lmaooooo. I manage to put some distance between him and I but I can still see him and he sees me ahdbdhdhdj. I start speed walking and I see a food truck and pls rmb that I'm still hungry so I ponder stopping for food but then I see the guy getting closer so I decide to just run lol and eventually I lose him and i get home after taking a detour or two just to make sure i lost him. sigh, so bitch I basically walked 15 mins to town, got heckled at, got followed, DIDN'T GET TO EAT PIZZA, DIDN'T GET TO EAT MY CHILLI CHEESE FRIES AT THE FOOD TRUCK EITHER then had to jog home for another 15 mins while looking back every so often just to make sure he aint following me and then to top it all off I had to go to bed HUNGRY. not to mention the fact that I didn't get to go to the bar like... I'm so mad ):< ugh why can't people just NOT DO THAT, just not be creepy???? is that so hard??? just wanted my damn pizza and perhaps a long island iced tea but I got NEITHER!!! glad im alive tho so i mean wow being a girl is so gr8!!!

[buffynotporn]

Buffy Reviews: The Witch

1. omg i wish i could just copypasta the entire first scene bc everything about it is gold

Giles: This is madness! What can you have been thinking? You are the Slayer! Lives depend upon you! I make allowances for your youth, but I expect a certain amount of responsibility, and instead of which you enslave yourself to this, this...  Cult?

Buffy: You don’t like the color? 

2. buffy’s face when she says “and you’ll be stopping me how?” I CAN’T

3. ok so no offense to high school cheerleading but... why is it so big here? like this is a one-starbucks town, no one needs to be hiring coaches to get on their high school team?? wtf

4. we can all agree xander’s gross custom ID bracelet is pretty ewww right? 

5. i love how in awe of buffy willow is after buff saves amber, like it’s so cute / appreciative and this is how i choose to remember willow always

6. i do love referring to Buffy & Co as the Scoobies but part of me kinda wishes “Slayerettes” had stuck 

7. this fucking outfit BUFF U INSPIRE ME  

i love that there’s usually some feature that just MAKES the look, ya know? like these tights!!! i want this whole Look and i want it NOW

8. this is not a good episode for the self-appointed captain of the joyce summers defense league. my notes literally say “joyce??? :( indefensible” there’s literally no good here. like first joyce doesn’t even know what she’s trying out for?? and then instead of ASKING she just gives generic platitudes?? and THEN when buff calls her on it, joyce gets an attitude? and still even after all this, buff starts hinting about wanting to spend more quality time with her mom and joyce just blows it off. just like... why must u make this so hard for me, joyce??? 

9. buffy is honestly so empathetic to amy and it warms my heart. like no one deserves her. totally understanding where amy is coming from and the pressure she’s under and doing her best to make her feel better even tho she only met the girl yesterday? the world does not deserve buffy summers. 

10. lmao i love cordy’s scene in the locker room with amy. it’s like just the right amount of chilling and then u remember it’s cordy and they’re talking about cheerleading . it really homes in on the terror of high school without being heavy handed about it, as the show is prone to do sometimes.

11. willow’s crush on xander isn’t as obvious in these first few episodes and i always forget. like he’s talking to her about buffy and she doesn’t seem like *as* bothered as one might expect and even suggest him asking her out? ofc she’s p confident buff would say no i’m sure so maybe she was just trying to get xander over her faster. regardless, it’s definitely not as blatant as it will become.

12. another cringey convo with joyce. i’m trying to remember when she starts to get good?? like this is painful:

Joyce: Whatever your own thing was got you kicked out of school! 

pls, joyce. pls. 

13. i have mixed feelings about this outfit. 

like the shirt literally just has a cupcake on it which i LOVE and i like pink pants in theory but... the pants + the jacket is just not good

14. on the other hand cordy stopped dressing like a soccer mom so props to her

15. did student driver cars not have passenger side breaks in the 90s or something?? i feel like they did and this is an oversight but to be fair by the time i was old enough to drive they weren’t even teaching drivers ed in schools anymore so

16. 

Giles: Why would somebody want to harm Cordelia?

Willow: Maybe because they met her. Did I say that?

yes u did and i’m proud of u

17. this scene where they see who checked out the library books is weird. it doesn’t rly make sense from a “how do we figure out who is the witch” standpoint and serves no purpose plot-wise. and “haha xander looks at nude ingravings bc he’s a teenage boy” is just not a very good joke, but it seems like they made this whole scene to make that one bad joke. i don’t get it and i don’t like it.

18. i like the continuity of showing the same bio teacher that’ll be in the next episode

19. again, buffy astounds us all with her amazing sneakiness and incredible lying skills 

Buffy: Amy, help me. Um, which is the hydrochloric acid and which is the, uh, ammonium hydroxide?

Amy: Well, the bottle that says 'hydrochloric acid' is usually the hydrochloric acid.

followed by buffy very not-subtly dropping her pen and then not-subtly grabbing a fist full of hair out of amy’s brush. like come on, girl. 

20. buffy’s spell-drunk / macho man / giddy whirl scenes r like in my top 15 scenes for the whole show. seriously. she is so cute and SMG is acting with her entire body and her skirt is twirly and her hair is bouncy and she is so funny and cute and delightful. also every time i drink juice i now say “hey look, juice” the same way buffy does in the breakfast scene. 

21. i am HIGHLY embarrassed to admit that it took me until this viewing (at least my eighth) to see the parallel between xander calling willow “my guy friend” and buffy calling xander “one of the girls.” but now that i have noticed it I LOVE IT

22. so even when buffy still thinks it’s amy doing the magic, she is REMARKABLY empathetic for someone about to die. like she thinks amy is literally killing her and her response is 

Buffy: It’s not Amy’s fault. She only became a witch to survive her mother.

23. the body-switch twist where it’s actually amy’s mom in amy’s body is literally SO GOOD and just elevates this episode to rly one of the best, esp for the first season. like i just can’t get over how good it is. i didn’t see it coming my first watch-through, it keeps with the theme of the hellmouth making metaphor-problems a reality (”my mom is trying to relive high school through me!) without being too on-the-nose, and the revelation scene is just incredibly well done. like when amy is explaining how she woke up in the wrong bed, i genuinely get chills. 

Amy: She said I was wasting my youth. So she took it. 

CHILLS I SAY

24. “Go Sunnydale Go” repeated over and over and over and over is probably the most boring cheer i’ve ever heard 

25. does giles casting this spell count as Ripper!Giles? bc he says it’s his first casting whcih ofc could be a lie but could also be retcon . either way it’s sexy af (as Ripper always is)

26. this shot will never not be hilarious to me 

27. idk about this outfit, buff. like it’s v put-together and all but... stick to the cheerleading uniform 

28. overall one of the best episodes in the first season and honestly even holds its own compared to the rest of the series. like i don’t think it’ll be on anyone’s Top 10 list but it’s a really good episode. it’s compact (with the exception of the library book scene), it’s on theme, it’s creepy, it’s funny, and it’s got willow comparing xander to a chewed up pen. what more could u want?? 

[atamascolily]

lily watches fma:b eps.48-52

My default emotion for this show continues to be bewilderment, between my worldbuilding headache and confusion about how the final battle can possibly take 10 episodes to resolve. But at least Hohenheim actually does something for once, and so does Yoki, so there’s that.

greed LOVES lan fan - OT3 ACCEPTED!!

so chi lets you see in the dark... or comes with being a ninja, okay.

(look, SO MUCH OF THE ALCHEMY WOULD MAKE SENSE IF THEY PLAYED UP THE CHI ANGLE, OKAY??? Fingers crossed that happens)

oh, hi, Roy's at Madam Christmas's again [ngl I love her]

pride sets the woods on fire so he can't be defeated by the darkness trick (which for the record IS still so weird to me)

wait, Madam Christmas is Roy's foster mother? What??

oh, I see why Pride is out of Central - narratively speaking, it means Mustang and Company can work without his interference. Seems like a poor choice on #TeamHomunculus, though.

(or do they just not care? or is it all plans within plans? I got nothing)

I love how Kain Furey is the cutest of the bunch

Pride eats Gluttony for the philosopher's stone, which is SUPER DUMB. he should have gone for greed (also, gluttony being eaten by a bigger monster is just... ironic.)

Gluttony's last words are for Lust, which just makes me sad.

okay, hohenheim finally stepped in and literally moved heaven and earth to trap pride. FINALLY.

both pride and al are out of the fight, but overall a net win for team good, at least temporarily if they can starve pride's human body.

greed decides to take advantage of this and kill father

Scar stops to ask for directions from random strangers and it's like "oh, you sure you didn't commit terrorism? seems like something you would do"

Kimblee kills a bunch of people and is mad that his suit gets dirty MAYBE YOU SHOULDN'T WEAR ALL WHITE YOU ASSHAT

al: lol ur plan was dumb, we could have just run away. pride: but you didn't ;););) *drum beats*

and the sun rises on the Promised Day as Ed retrieves his cloak and swings it dramatically over his shoulders... beautiful shot there.

and we still have like 15 episodes to GOOOOOOOOO, so idk about pacing here.

mustang and co. kidnap mrs. bradley, only for the central troops to order everyone's deaths BUT mustang (b/c sacrifice). Mrs.Bradley breaks down realizing she's expendable (though bradley himself loves her, father doesn't give a shit about a random human)

They only shot the soldiers in the knee with the line of "if we were briggs soldiers, you'd be dead," lol. olivier herself chides mustang for being soft when she finds out. 

central is SO PERPLEXED when they realize that none of their men are actually dead as the battle continues

Rebecca shows up in a ice cream truck with a cartoon bear on it with more ammo.... and Maria Ross, back from exile.

(because sidelining her in Xing for most of the show was a mistake)

I think Rebecca's going to end up with Havoc, but we'll see. (especially since they bought all the supplies from Havoc's General Store, heck yeah!!)

Hohenheim re: Father - "if we smash his container, he'll die" uhhh, dude, why didn't you do that, like, YEARS ago??

also, what the hell are in all the pipes connected to the throne?are we ever going to find out what’s that about?

well, some of them are full of philosopher's stone juice because an army dude uses them to revive the zombies in the basement.... all of whom wake up screaming. #relatable.

time for a new opening! lots of rain, tears and blood, with winry watching ed sleep. and it looks like scar and bradley face off?

[ngl, I STILL have no idea how the pacing is going to work here]

So are the new zombie soldiers "homunculi" as well or is that only if they get a cool name/association with a particular sin??

The zombies rip the throat out of the military guy who woke them up - seriously, I don't get why he thought this would end any other way, especially given the lab-coated scientists pleading for him to stop, it hasn't been tested yet

oops ed just let the zombies out

someone sent sloth to kill olivier,  although why the fuck him I have no idea. (guess father has no one left??)

pride keeps banging on al's head and I'm sure it's for a reason BESIDES being as creepy as hell - its morse code to summon... kimblee!

[though why the FUCK this works and why the FUCK kimblee gives a shit, I have no idea]

one of the zombies eats envy, so this can only end well

yup he eats all the zombies so now he has more lives

pride says something really interesting when kimblee chides him for eating gluttony (a "nakama," or companion). pride says "we are not nakama. we are a collective"... so they really are just different personality attributes from father in different vessels.

BUT WHY, THO

seems like it causes more problems than it solves - see exhibit a, greed, who is here to cause problems on purpose

Heinkel remembers that damn philosopher's stone he pocketed ages ago - DUDE IT'S BEEN SIX MONTHS YOU THINK YOU WOULD HAVE REMEMBERED IT BEFORE NOW!!

kimblee has such a hard-on at the thought of fighting an alchemist with a philosopher's stone

that was a damn good fight, al! I'm so proud!

al rejects kimblee's false dichotomy and dudebro philosophy

who would have guessed sloth had superspeed?

okay, anyway lots of battles. Yoki hits pride with kimblee's car, I'm very impressed. 

roy does the ‘use alchemy to transform the outside of a vehicle so soldiers don’t look for it’... clearly those NPCs have no imagination whatsoever, lol.

oh, hey, it’s sergeant broussh - I remember in 03 you were actually relevant and here you are a poorly explored background character.

pride eats kimblee - either gluttony is having more effect than I realized or  pride is just always Like That

anyway, roy shows up to help ed fight zombies.

[gotta be honest, I'm getting kind of bored with 3 episodes of fighting and STILL ZERO ANSWERS about various things.]

[minimoonstar]

MZS gets me.

I think Lynch is right that cable/streaming is currently the new art house. It wasn’t true a couple of years ago, when everyone began heralding a renewed Golden Age of TV. That stuff - Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Game of Thrones - certainly seems like excellent TV, but I have no more interest in it than I have in Updike novels; in a real way, I’m not a TV watcher. ^_^;

Now, though, what seems to have happened is that some writer-director types are pulling together a form of funding that allows them to do what they do for 6-12 hours with a built-in distribution deal, instead of 2 1/2 hours with no built-in distribution. The former is called “TV” by default, instead of “independent film,” but in purpose they’re the latter, just longer. The Young Pope is the new Paolo Sorrentino, The Get Down is the new Baz Luhrmann, and so on. (Per personal experience, I suspect Netflix did not make enough people understand that The Get Down was the new Baz Luhrmann.) 

So there’s a bit of sleight of hand with Twin Peaks: The Return, which several critics predicted in advance, though I didn’t consider it until I literally sat down to watch the first ep on Showtime in my friend Ced’s NYC apartment: the original series was a 24-episode TV show where Lynch and Frost were the creator-showrunners. The new series is an 18-hour David Lynch movie with Frost as co-writer.** If Lynch had popped in 2k17 like “I made this 18-hour long movie and it’s going to play a limited engagement of special screenings in movie theatres,” who would have turned up for that after Inland Empire? It’s not a rhetorical question - to some extent, the person who would have turned up is the person the thing was made for, because the thing is the thing.

(I will note that I absolutely turned up for the Director’s Cut of Nymphomaniac, Vols. I-II in theaters, after which I thought: rather than being aggressively hipster, isn’t this just like... binging a limited TV series? In any case, Von Trier is currently remaking Hannibal, good times, can’t wait for that not to be terrible about to release a film that he started developing as a TV series, but then figured it wasn’t 5 1/2 hours long.)

** Frost is why the new show’s plot is, in fact, perfectly intelligible, even over-determined, with loads of interlocked moving pieces. It would come off clockwork-orrery in any other director’s hands (i.e. first season of Fargo), but Lynch is imposing his rhythm and tempo on the thing. Frost’s weird is Lore weird, “you Americans are always liminal this, cryptid that” weird: he’s the “what if Jack Parsons used nuclear tests to open a portal to spiritual dimensions known to Native American tribes of the Pacific Northwest” guy. Lynch is the “what if a soot-covered hobo crushed skulls while reciting a creepy poem and a frog-bug crawled into your mouth” guy. The beauty is that these two dudes’ approaches complement instead of them talking straight past each other.

[lonelypond]

Casual Lunacy, Chapter 5

Love Live, nicomaki main pairing, 5/?, 2.5K

Maki has an existential crisis and things take a turn for the weird for everyone's favorite future star of stage and screen. Plus, A-Rise makes their official entrance.

THE WEREWOLF PHILOSOPHICAL

Nico. Nico wanted answers. Maki wanted to just curl up and not think...but she’d stopped at the downtown book store 5 minutes before closing and ignoring the glares of the clerk, made him find her a Neruda book. So now, here she was, home, the memory of Nico pointing at her, ruby eyes twinkling, lips pursing around “Don’t I know it” looping in her head. The poem had not really been much help. Seemed to be directed at an attractive woman…”Ode To A Naked Beauty”, Maki blushed at the title and then growled at the thought of CompLit Turkish Coffee Guy thinking of her...or Nico that way. Did that mean Nico...Maki tossed the Neruda on the table and wandered over to the stereo, instrumental, classical, Beethoven...Für Elise. No words. Words were always confusing. It was easier to be...Princess...around Nico...Maki didn’t feel as shy...was she really now thinking of her wolf form with another name? That would be confusing. And a disaster of a habit to get into. But when Nico said Princess, Maki felt herself warming at the affection she remembered in Nico’s voice...and the concern. Nico had been so mad that Maki might be the one letting Princess wander...no, this was a wrong road, a bad bad road to go down. Maki was Maki, even with a tail too ready to wag when Nico called to her. There was no Princess.

But then who would Nico call pretty?

Maki threw herself on the couch and grabbed the Neruda again. There had been a poem…"that our mouths are not filled with all these dubious names.” Dubious. Too...ha...Maki laughed at herself..two many names. “When I go to sleep each night what am I called, not called? And when I wake up, who am I” More muddling thoughts. Maki had never really questioned anything. Sometimes, she had wolf senses and people made a little more sense, sometimes she didn’t and everything was a little less...elemental but she could play the piano. No one had ever made her prefer one form or the other. Did Nico prefer one form or the other? Nico was confusing. Yet felt right. But Nico was mad at Maki. And filling every one of her senses whenever Maki moved around the campus, although here, a few miles away, safe in the sanctuary of her parent’s house, Maki couldn’t sense Nico. And yet, still, the small, sparkling dynamo stole center stage in every thought. Maki groaned and turned a random page, pulling the throw over her legs. Maybe this next poem wouldn’t shiver with hints of ruby and sable.

Dr. and Dr. Nishikino came home from the gala charity event well after midnight to find their only child snoring on the couch in the media room, a paperback open across her chest, her legs tangled and twitching in a throw as she dreamed.

Her mother carefully picked the book up and read the title. “Selected Poems of Pablo Neruda.”

“Poetry? Maki?” The taller Dr. Nishikino chuckled in his wife’s direction. “Not schoolwork, I guess.”

Dr. Nishikino handed the book to her husband and watched as he read the open page. “I know Maki’s working on a paper for Cognitive Psychology and and her freshman seminar is something about sports and music so I don’t think so.”

Maki whimpered in her sleep and her mother touched her shoulder, attempting to calm her. This close to the full moon, Maki tended to sleep transform when stressed. It was part of the reason she’d opted out of university housing.

“Maki, wake up. We’re home.” Her mother announced softly, the combination of curious and worried too much of a prickle to ignore.

Maki’s eyes opened, slowly, “Mama? Papa?”

“You were having a nightmare, weren’t you?” Her father prodded.

Maki sat up, nodding, untangling fabric from her legs. Her mother handed her the book back, “I didn’t know you liked poetry?”

Maki snatched the book back, shoving it into the kangaroo pocket of the hoodie she wore around the house, “Someone quoted him so I was curious.”

“What did you think?” Her father asked, sharing a glance with his wife.

Maki shrugged, a slight blush on her cheeks. “It’s...um...very descriptive.”

Her mother managed to choke back a laugh while her father folded up the throw, “If you like Neruda, I’ve got some Federico Garcia Lorca on my shelves.” He paused, “and “The Ink Dark Moon,” full of Izumi Shikibu poetry.”

“That’s a good one.” Maki’s mother smiled at a memory, leaning into her husband’s side, both watching their daughter nod earnestly, with a focused, familiar look that meant she was memorizing names and titles. “Good night, Maki. Get some sleep. We’ll see you at breakfast, right?”

Maki agreed, “Good night.”

MEETINGS

Once a week, Nico and Umi had a roommate meeting. Nico would prepare breakfast, Umi would have prepared a list of discussion topics, shared with Nico at least two days in advance so Nico could amend the agenda, if necessary.

Not much to talk about this week. Umi would be spending the weekend with Honoka and Kotori, the trio were throwing a Lunar New Year party. Kotori had been showing Nico pics of her decorations for weeks. Umi beamed proudly when Nico mentioned how impressed she was by Kotori’s designs. With the weekend plan discussion checked off the list, the discussion turned to current events.

Umi finished the last of her omelet. “Delicious as always, Nico. Thank you very much.” She dropped her napkin across her plate. “How are rehearsals going?”

Nico tapped her fork on her plate, “Nico is excellent, of course, but Nico’s co star is a lot of work. Nico is worried that she’s going to drag the show down.” Nico poured herself more tea; Umi shook her head, refusing. “And drag down Nico’s future plans too.”

“Kashima, right?” Umi asked. Nico nodded.

“Kotori says she fits the role.”

Nico raspberried, “”Kotori’s swooning with all the rest of them. Sure, Kashima’s handsome, maybe charming, but....”And Nico stared straight at Umi, dragging out the pause for extreme dramatic effect, “She can’t sing. Fangs is a musical. And I have to do a duet with her.”

Nico’s eyes sparked with indignation. She grabbed the plates from the table and started to rinse them. Umi moved to take over as she usually did when Nico cooked but Nico refused the help. “Cleaning is better than fuming. Leave me some leftovers tonight.”

Umi understood. Performing an activity was always preferable to stewing in emotions. She decided a helpful gesture would be to change the topic.

“How’s the redhead?”

Nico stopped and turned, leaning back against the sink, “Dog or person? Nico hasn’t seen either for a couple of days.”

“Dog?” Umi quickly reviewed what she remembered of the lease. Was there a pet policy? Was Nico planning to adopt a dog? If they had a dog, Honoka might visit more often. The orange haired affection blanket often felt homesick for her family’s dog, never for the Japanese specialities of her family bakery which Umi had always enjoyed.

“That’s right, Nico told Nozomi not Umi. There’s a dog that’s been finding me on campus.”

“A stray?” Umi sounded concerned and a little frightened.

“No.” Nico’s answer was instant, but the more she considered, the more convincing it was, “She's beautiful and too well groomed for that. Plus there’s these two nice but odd girls who seem to know her.” Nico dried her hands off in her apron, “I call her Princess. She seems to like it.” Nico’s phone popped, "I’m going to be late for class. Can you please finish the dishes, Umi? I'll pick up food later.”

“Of course,” And Umi took Nico’s place at the sink, wondering why her roommate hadn’t said anything about the human redhead.

Chemistry class. Hanayo, her glasses pushed down her nose, ignoring both the professor and her laptop, was instead frowning at Maki, doing her best to guilt the redhead into apologizing to Rin. And it was working. Maki really hated seeing either of her friends upset. Plus, it wasn’t really Rin’s fault she was so friendly and outgoing.

Maki messaged Hanayo: “Talk after class.”

Hanayo jumped when her laptop barked at her. The professor stopped to stare, along with the rest of the class.

“Sorry.” Hanayo mumbled, then nodded at Maki when she read her screen. As her fingers moved over the keyboard, Maki knew she was typing a message to Rin -- and muting her notifications. Track practice hadn’t started in earnest for Rin yet so her schedule was still mostly flexible. Maki fully expected an excited ginger to be waiting for them when class finished. Maki felt more cheerful than she had in a couple of days. Rin’s relentless optimism was the mood boost she needed.

Nozomi was settled in the back of the theatre, watching the stage crew assemble on stage. Nico was a little late today, unusual. Perhaps delayed by a redhead. Nozomi did wonder about that possibility, but before she could pull out her cards to get a reading on Nico, Eli had slid into the seat next to her.

“Good morning, Nozomi. How are you?” Eli smiled as she bumped slightly into Nozomi’s arm.

“Eli-chi!” Nozomi leaned into Eli's arm, "Good morning!"

“I never asked you how you were involved in this?” Eli sounded serious. And apologetic. Like it had been a massive oversight on her part. Nozomi giggled.

“I’m going to help make your scenes as creepy as possible.” Nozomi grinned.

Eli's blue eyes were curious, though she waited patiently for Nozomi to continue.

“I’m helping the lighting designer with video effects; I managed to swing some class credit.”

“What’s your major?”

“Art theory and practice, but I’m more camera and performance oriented than most of the students so I end up collaborating with theatre projects a lot.” Nozomi stretched, letting a yawn out; Eli watched her movement but resisted joining the yawn.

Eli raised an eyebrow, “Interesting. So what do you have planned?”

“That would ruin the surprise.” Nozomi ruffled Eli’s hair as her arms dropped from their stretch, “Don’t you like surprises?”

“Not really.” Eli admitted, fixing her ponytail.

“Nozomi.” Nozomi and Eli looked up to see a tall woman with long dark hair, an iPad and a very serious look in the aisle.

“Oh, hey Erena! Do you need me?” Nozomi asked brightly.

Erena nodded, “Suzu’s here and we need to talk about the exterior castle effects.”

“Great,” Nozomi stood, eager to get to work, “Talk to you later, Eli-chi. Have to make you look good on stage.” Nozomi winked.

Eli frowned as Nozomi followed Erena to the stage, still considering surprises.

Nico spotted Nozomi talking to two women on the edge of the stage. Today, she was working on one of the London diary writing scenes so she had the stage to herself and images were going to be projected behind her. Nozomi had explained what she had planned and Nico was anxious to work with the tech as soon as possible. She wanted to make sure her performance was still the emotional center of the scene. The cute green eyed stage tech she noticed the first day wandered toward her and Nico broke out a fairly dazzling smile, about 5.5 on the scale. New friends were always good, as she’d told Nozomi, especially if they were cute.

“Nico, right?” The woman extended her hand, “Tsubasa Kira. I’m in charge of the scrim and fabric effects. We’ll be working together on the Trance sequence.”

Nico bumped the smile up 2 notches, “That’s one of Nico’s favorite scenes. I can’t wait to hear what you’ve got planned, Tsubasa.”

“Well, if you’ll come backstage with me, I can show you the fabric we’ll be working with. Professor Asuka said you had a few minutes.” Tsubasa dropped a hand to Nico’s waist to show the way. Nico danced a little ahead of her grasp after the first step.

Nozomi was watching them, while still managing to be involved in whatever was being planned, which didn’t surprise Nico. Nozomi had a third eye and a hidden ear, both for gossip. There were some diaphanous white sheets tacked to the back wall of the theatre. Nico headed straight for them and as she passed between the flats the stage crew was painting, the lights blinked and there was an electronic buzz….Nico heard Nozomi grunt and looked back to see her friend wince in pain, and then Nico felt something wiry against her cheek, scraping. She turned back to see the white sheets billowing forward, reaching out like arms, as the lights started blinking again, then with a crash, everything went dark and there was a scream.

“Eli” Nozomi shouted. Nico pulled the fabric off her face, trying to remain calm as she confronted Tsubasa, “Is this supposed to attack Nico?”

Tsubasa had pulled out a flashlight and her eyes were wide as Nico threw the fabric on the floor, away from them both, watching it flutter like a wounded moth. It wouldn’t stop moving. Nico knew she was equally torn between stomping on it and joining the screamer while fleeing.

“Nico?!?!” Tsubasa’s voice shook a little. That decided Nico. She grabbed the other girl and headed for the EXIT light. Outside. Afternoon. Freezing. But free of this weirdness.

Maki walked with Hanayo out of class, Rin would be waiting for them at the dorm, she’d been napping and didn’t want to go out in the cold. Maki found it invigorating, but Rin was definitely more into cozy than cold weather. Maki tood tall, facing the Lakefill, arms stretched out to the sides, and inhaled. Clear, crisp cold, musk, peach, vanilla, magic, feAR, BLOOD...with a snarl, Maki transformed faster than Hanayo could track, howled and bolted into the center of campus. Hanayo knelt to pick up her clothes and wondered if sending Rin after their friend would complicate things for Maki.

Nico was searching for Nozomi, who seemed to have stayed inside the theatre. Tsubasa was sticking close beside her. Nico heard a howl...next thing, Nico thought, an actual vampire surrounded by bats would show up in a cloud of mist. Nico wondered if all shows about spooky themes ended up being weird.

“You’re bleeding, Nico.” Tsubasa sounded worried, pulling Nico to a stop and raising a hand to the cheek where Nico had been scratched. Nico had felt something but hadn’t thought that it might be blood. Just as Tsubasa was about to touch her, a red and cream blur pushed the other woman back, snarling dangerously. Princess. Princess with a very different vibe. Nico put her hand to her cheek. Was it the blood?

“Hey, calm down.” Tsubasa skipped back, hands out in front of her. “Nico? Some help?”

“Princess…” Nico put a hand between Princess’s shoulders, but the dog kept snarling and started to crouch for a leap. Nico quickly moved between Princess and Tsubasa, kneeling. “Just get out of here, Tsubasa. I’ll handle this.” Princess surged around Nico, about to chase Tsubasa away and Nico fell into the snow, exasperated by everything and overwhelmed. She could feel tears starting, which was pathetic and undignified for a future star of stage and screen. Just a minute and she would recover. Nico laid back on the ground, cold intruding everywhere. Suddenly she felt warmth at her cheek, Princess, a worried Princess, a Princess snuffling Nico's face with concern, not a vicious, strange, snapping Princess. Nico relaxed, linked her arms around the dog and pulled herself up, whispering into silky fur. “It’s ok, Princess. Nico is fine. Just cold and confused and tired." Nico leaned into Princess’s sturdy warmth and let herself cry. Just for a minute.

A/N Howdy. Busy week, complete with a bout of under the weather...this chapter was tough to write, it felt like a wall the story had to get over before it could start the official obstacle course.Hope this finds you well. Enjoy and drop a howdy, if you feel inclined.